Azernews.Az

By Kamila Aliyeva

The three-day Central Asian International Environmental Forum titled “Initiative for Cooperation on Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development in Central Asia” has ended in Ashgabat city, Turkmenistan State News Agency reported.

The event was organized by the State Committee of Turkmenistan for Environmental Protection and Land Resources and the Regional Environmental Center for Central Asia (CAREC).

Scarcity of water resources is among the extremely difficult problems of the [Central Asian] region.

Representatives of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan spoke in favor of applying international water law and international experience of integrated management of shared water resources.

In turn, a representative of Kyrgyzstan proposed to develop economic mechanisms for water use among all the countries of the region in order to avoid risks associated with unbalanced water resources management.

It was emphasized that water issues cannot be considered in isolation from the long-term strategy of ecologically sustainable development of the region.

An opinion that the construction of new hydraulic structures on these waterways should be carried out on the basis of a constructive approach and a compromise in which the interests of other interested states are not infringed was expressed at the event.

Turkmenistan borders Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Iran and Afghanistan and uses water resources in accordance with agreed quotas from four transboundary rivers: the Amu Darya, Tejen, Atrek and Murghab.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

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