TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, April 30. Uzbekistan will introduce an indefinite moratorium on the extraction of non-metallic materials in the beds of the Chirchik, Sanzar, Zarafshan, Narin, Kashkadarya, Surkhandarya, and Syr Darya rivers beginning on May 1, Trend reports.
This is reflected in the decree of Uzbekistan's president on measures to streamline the mining of non-metallic materials in reservoirs.
According to the decree, economic entities are prohibited from mining sand and gravel in the Chirchik, Sanzar, Zarafshan, Narin, Kashkadarya, Surkhandarya, and Syr Darya river beds. The country also prohibits concluding contracts and issuing licenses for the extraction of non-metallic materials from the beds of these rivers. The activities of economic entities extracting sand and gravel in the territories declared by the moratorium will now be directed to alternative mining sites located in mountainous or foothill areas.
During the moratorium period, the amount of compensation for damage caused to nature as a result of the illegal extraction of sand and gravel materials increases 10 times.
Meanwhile, the volume of non-metallic mineral products in Uzbekistan reached 5.6 trillion soums ($441.2 million) from January through March 2024.
The share of other non-metallic mineral products in the structure of the manufacturing industry amounted to 4.3 percent.