Tengrinews.kz — President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev held a meeting of the Council of Heads of Founding States of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea. The leaders of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan also took part, citing Akorda.
According to the Head of State, the meeting of the leaders clearly confirms their commitment to the principles of sustainable development of the region and their desire to promote a pragmatic and coordinated environmental agenda.
“Today we will discuss the prospects for the development of the Fund, outline consolidated decisions aimed at preserving the ecosystem of the Aral Sea basin. This is a problem of a broad international scale, therefore the attention of many states and international organizations is focused on our work. The issue of saving the Aral Sea has been widely discussed for many years both in our region and around the world. Ensuring stability and prosperity of the region is our common and quite achievable task. I hope this meeting will give impetus to strengthening cooperation and bring real benefits to all countries of the region,” Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said.
The President emphasized that the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea is the only regional institutional platform designed to ensure coordination of efforts of states in addressing water management and environmental issues in Central Asia.
“The Fund plays a significant role in consolidating international support and implementing joint initiatives aimed at preserving the Aral Sea. Within the framework of Kazakhstan’s chairmanship in IFAS, with the active support of all founding states, work is consistently being carried out to address numerous pressing issues. For example, cooperation in the water and energy sector is being strengthened, mechanisms for financing projects are being expanded, measures have been taken to enhance the coordinating role of the Fund’s executive committee. Interaction with international partners, including UN structures, financial institutions and donors, has been strengthened. Work within international environmental initiatives has intensified. The Fund’s executive committee has taken part in a number of major events, including the One Water Summit in Riyadh, the 7th UN Environment Assembly in Nairobi, as well as the COP-29 conference in Baku and COP-30 in Belem,” Tokayev said.
According to the President, close attention is being paid to the implementation of the Action Program to Assist the Countries of the Aral Sea Basin and the Regional Environmental Program for Sustainable Development of Central Asia. In addition, more than 30 regional projects are being implemented with the participation of international organizations. The total funding of these programs and initiatives exceeds two billion dollars. An important contribution to improving the health and well-being of the population of the Aral Sea region is expected to be made by the regional Roadmap for 2026–2029 developed by Kazakhstan in partnership with the World Health Organization.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev also focused on the positive results of joint efforts to restore the ecosystem of the Northern Aral Sea.
“The increase in the volume of water in the sea from 18.9 to 23.5 cubic kilometers has had a positive impact on the fishing industry and, in general, on the socio-economic situation in the Aral Sea region. A unique natural and scientific site has been created — the Aral geopark, designed to become a model of sustainable development for this territory. The main goal of the project is to preserve the natural, environmental and historical heritage of the Aral Sea,” the President said.
Work is currently underway to include the site in the UNESCO Global Geoparks Network. Thus, Tokayev noted, Kazakhstan’s chairmanship was aimed at increasing the effectiveness of the Fund.
“I express sincere gratitude to all founding states for their support and constructive cooperation. I am confident that through joint efforts, maintaining continuity in goal-setting and practical work, we will be able to achieve even greater success in ensuring a sustainable future for our peoples,” the President of Kazakhstan said.
According to the Head of State, analysis of the current situation in the Aral Sea basin shows that despite the achievements, the growth of environmental threats is outpacing the scale of measures taken to mitigate them.
“You are well aware of the alarming environmental situation in the Aral Sea basin. The climate in the Aral Sea region has noticeably changed: summer temperatures have increased by an average of 2–2.5 degrees, aridity has intensified, while winters, on the contrary, have become colder. Within a radius of 100 kilometers, precipitation has significantly decreased. The frequency and scale of dust storms are increasing. Tens of millions of tons of salt, sand and various chemical substances rise into the atmosphere every year from the Aralkum desert. They are detected in the most remote regions of the world, for example in the Arctic Ocean, and have a negative impact on soils, ecosystems and human health far beyond the region,” Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said.
The President emphasized that the impact of aerosol emissions on the glaciers of the Tien Shan and Pamir is of serious concern. According to the World Meteorological Organization, the last hydrological year for glaciers was one of the worst in the entire observation period (since 1950). The reduction of glaciers has an extremely negative impact on the water security of the entire region, while water consumption continues to grow steadily.
“More than 80 percent of all water resources are used in agriculture, while losses in irrigation systems remain unacceptably high. Under these conditions, it is necessary to develop coordinated and long-term solutions. Let us set an example that would demonstrate to the world our ability to jointly and productively develop solutions of strategic importance and scale,” Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said.
The President called for considering water issues as a common topic for the countries of the region with broad international significance.
“This is not a problem of a national level, not a tactical issue, but a strategic task of global importance. Therefore, it is important to move to practical actions, including updating the organizational mechanisms of the Fund’s work. This will strengthen the applied nature of its activities. In our opinion, it would be necessary to strengthen the role of the Fund as a central regional platform within which it would be possible to effectively address issues of water, ecology and sustainable development in the interests of all Central Asian countries. The accumulated experience of cooperation must not be lost. According to observations of international experts, in recent years national priorities have prevailed in the water policies of the countries of the region, while international aspects — cooperation with each other, taking into account the interests of neighboring states — have receded into the background,” the Head of State said.
As the President noted, experts believe this is the main cause of water and energy imbalances, violations of established procedures for managing transboundary river resources, and lack of attention to environmental consequences. In these difficult conditions, it is critically important to try to achieve, at least partially, harmonization of water strategies of states, which will also allow scaling up the most successful water-saving practices.
“At last year’s consultative meeting of Central Asian leaders, I proposed adopting a framework convention on water use in accordance with international standards. Such a convention would make it possible to закрепить agreed principles of multilateral interaction and increase the efficiency of transboundary water use. I ask you to pay attention to this proposal,” Tokayev said.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev called digitalization of the water sector an urgent task, in particular the introduction of a unified automated monitoring system in the basins of the Syr Darya and Amu Darya, which will ensure transparency and reliability of data.
“Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have begun automating ten sections in the Syr Darya basin. This experience could be scaled across the entire Aral Sea basin. The issue of further institutional development of the Fund remains relevant. I believe this process has somewhat dragged on. As a priority measure, it is proposed to complete the formation of the interstate energy commission. Practice shows that coordination of actions in the energy sector plays a major role in stable and reliable water supply for our countries. Therefore, in our view, it is important to synchronize meetings of the water management and energy commissions of the Fund. We consider it possible to first launch the activities of the interstate energy commission linked to the Syr Darya basin. Subsequently, as interaction mechanisms are refined, this format can be expanded to cover the entire Aral Sea basin. We expect that such a phased approach will ensure a balance of interests of all countries in the region,” the President said.
According to the Head of State, amid growing water and environmental challenges in the region, it is extremely important to consolidate efforts and demonstrate solidarity in order to overcome disagreements through mutually acceptable compromises.
“As is known, Kyrgyzstan has suspended its participation in the Fund. This is the sovereign right of the Kyrgyz state, and Kazakhstan respects it. At the same time, Kazakhstan highly values the development of contacts with Kyrgyzstan at the working level between agencies and is ready for further joint work. I emphasize: Kyrgyzstan’s experience is extremely important for the sustainable development of all Central Asia. Therefore, we believe that sooner or later Kyrgyzstan’s participation in IFAS will be restored. In any case, we would welcome this. To strengthen the role of the Fund in our region, it is proposed to integrate water issues into the agenda of other formats of our multilateral interaction, including consultative meetings,” Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said.
At the same time, the President pointed to the importance of strengthening joint work with international organizations, donors and financial institutions to provide additional funding for relevant projects.
“Today, at the plenary session of the Regional Environmental Summit, I once again raised the initiative to create an international water organization within the UN as its specialized institution. The creation of such a structure is the demand of the time. This is recognized in the international water community. It will contribute to consolidating the efforts of the global community in ensuring water security in the region. Such an organization, operating within the UN mandate, will not cause any harm to any country, especially to Central Asian states. Therefore, I once again call for support of this initiative, which could be presented at the UN as a common initiative of all Central Asian countries. In that case, it would be possible to propose placing separate segments of UN Water in several capitals of Central Asian states,” Tokayev said.
In addition, to attract additional attention of the global community to the preservation of the Aral Sea water system, it is proposed to jointly put forward an initiative to establish the International Day of the Aral Sea, the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers under the auspices of the UN.
“All the proposals I have made correspond to our common interests; there is no political populism in them, and certainly no hidden agenda,” the Head of State noted.
In conclusion, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev emphasized that the fate of the Aral Sea is not only a major environmental challenge for the countries of the region, but also a kind of public test of the ability to act together to achieve concrete practical results.
“The future of our region depends solely on us — on a trusting dialogue and close cooperation between our countries. I appeal to my esteemed colleagues, presidents, dear brothers. You are all competent and experienced people, you understand well the importance of the water issue. If there is no water in the region, there will be no Central Asian states here; if there is water, the lives of our youth will become better and brighter. As they say, water is life. I am confident that the current summit will give a powerful impetus to the activities of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea and will become the starting point of a new stage of regional cooperation for the benefit of our peoples,” the President of Kazakhstan added.
During the meeting of the Council of Heads of Founding States of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea, speeches were also delivered by President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov, President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, and Chairman of the Executive Committee of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea Askat Orazbay.
Earlier, speaking at the plenary session of the Regional Environmental Summit, the President stated that the Aral Sea still reminds us of the consequences of irrational policy.
