Ismail Dairov
“Our country is part of a transboundary water system” — President Sadyr Japarov, II People’s Kurultai, Bishkek, December 15-16, 2023
Environmental, climate change and water policy issues have been the focus of the author’s professional interests throughout his more than 30-year career at the national and regional levels. Moreover, if the first part of this period consisted of issues at the national level, then the second was regional, since he had to work in environmental organizations at the regional level.
The acquired work experience made it possible to compare the approaches of environmental and water departments of the countries of Central Asia, to analyze the effectiveness of their policies on these issues, to understand the interests, sometimes very contradictory and complex, of the national and interstate levels, on a bilateral and multilateral basis.
Interests, not only at the level of line ministries and departments at the national level, but also how they reflected on issues of regional cooperation and interstate relations, leading to increased tension due to the inept position of individual ministries and departments, where few people understand due to the frequent change of managers and specialists in these same ministries and departments.
A lot of articles have been written on these extremely important issues over the past more than 15 years, with specific proposals for optimizing our policies – domestic and foreign. In 2021, a collection of articles “Ecology and Climate. Kyrgyzstan in the 21st century”, where the author collected articles reflecting the vision of the problems and proposed ways to solve them.
In this regard, recent steps by the leadership of the Kyrgyz Republic allow us to conclude that, at last, senior officials have begun to better understand the importance of environmental, climate and water issues, pay due attention to water use and speak more actively about the need for cooperation with neighbors. This is evidenced by monitoring the speeches of the country’s President S. Japarov at various international forums and national meetings, the analysis of which was carried out in a number of opinion articles last year.
In addition to them, the country’s president at the Second People’s Kurultai in December last year announced plans to improve the status of the water resources management body and literally immediately signed a document on the creation of the Ministry of Water Resources, Agriculture and Processing Industry.
Moreover, the appointed head of the department, Bakyt Torobaev, simultaneously became deputy chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers. This truly demonstrates the seriousness of intentions to raise issues of water resource efficiency to a qualitatively new level.
It should be noted that out of about 300 questions asked to the President from the rostrum of the Kurultai, almost half are related to “water” problems (40% – lack of irrigation water, irrigation, ecology). And as S. Japarov himself said, about 90% of the delegates’ requests were related to water.
Immediately after the Kurultai, the head of the Cabinet of Ministers A. Japarov held a meeting of the National Council for Water and Land Resources under the President of the Kyrgyz Republic on December 20, 2023, where he stated that increasing the efficiency of water resources management is one of the main directions of state policy.
It seems that we are finally beginning to understand the importance of environmental issues, climate change and water resources, as the author has been calling for the past 15+ years. And understanding the importance of these problems, we must deal with perhaps the most pressing problems for Kyrgyzstan and our neighbors in the region – water problems, given the growing water shortage in recent years and the claims, to put it mildly, of farmers and the population, and not only them.
Earlier, in October 2023, during a speech at a meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the CIS member states, Japarov drew attention to the issue of using water and energy resources in Central Asia and demonstrated an understanding of the high responsibility in the issue of water supply, given that on the territory of our country Almost half of these resources in the region are formed.
“We advocate continuing to take timely measures and implement appropriate projects in the fields of irrigation, energy and infrastructure aimed at the efficient use of water and land resources and adaptation to climate change. In this regard, the Kyrgyz Republic proposes and promotes the creation of a mutually beneficial compensation mechanism for the integrated use of resources.”
Of course, this is a very correct and far-sighted proposal, but the question is: how is it seen in principle, and what will be the practical mechanism for its implementation? Representatives of the foreign policy department of our country have been talking about this in general terms for a long time at various meetings, but the author has not yet encountered specific and competent proposals based on knowledge of the systemic nature of the problems.
A number of critical articles have been written on these issues since 2016, when our Foreign Ministry decided to “freeze” Kyrgyzstan in the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS). The latest articles on this topic are “On the IFAS reform and opportunities for Kyrgyzstan”, “Once again about the problems of water resources and climate in Central Asia”, “WEC – the basis of “green” energy in Kyrgyzstan and the integration of Central Asia” and a number of others.
To protect water resources from pollution, water and basin administrations are being created, since the main directions of the country’s National Water Strategy for 2023-2040 are the protection of water resources from pollution, their rational use and reform of the management system. Such structures have already been created and are operating in neighboring countries, and now we can hope that issues of cooperation between them will receive a new, more effective and coordinated impetus.
Recently, the new minister Bakyt Torobaev announced that the president ordered to improve the irrigation network, for which an additional 2 billion soms will be allocated from the budget. Funds are also allocated for the construction of numerous daily and ten-day regulation pools. The reservoir construction program will last until 2027.
It is also worth noting the new initiatives of our president on the set of issues under consideration. Thus, in December, he spoke at the first meeting of the High-Level Committee on the Global Stocktaking on Adaptation within the High-Level Segment of the 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, in Dubai, UAE.
“Today I make an urgent call for the launch of a new global dialogue that will focus on the key interactions between mountains and climate. Mountains are the water towers of the world, cradles of biodiversity and guardians of the health of our planet. At the same time, they are among the most sensitive ecosystems to climate change. What happens in our mountains has profound consequences for all life on Earth. The Kyrgyz Republic is seeing the effects of climate change first-hand. Our glaciers are melting, biodiversity is under threat, and people are facing unprecedented challenges.
In October 2023, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, speaking from the roof of the world next to Everest, cited the fact that Nepal has lost a third of its glaciers over the past 30 years. The same situation is observed here in Kyrgyzstan. This is truly madness that must be stopped… Let us choose the path of cooperation, foresight and action.”
Earlier, at the Summit of Heads of State of the UN Special Program for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA) in Baku on November 20-24, 2023, S. Japarov said that the Kyrgyz Republic is most susceptible to climate change in the region. “Our centuries-old glaciers in the Tien Shan are irreversibly melting and disappearing every year. We are increasingly experiencing serious problems with water shortages for the population and agriculture, the hydropower sector is experiencing difficulties, and weather and climate conditions are changing towards an increase in the average annual temperature. Kyrgyzstan is actively working on the rational use of water and energy resources and the development of energy saving.”
Of course, these are very correct ideas and initiatives, as if copied from numerous author’s articles, which the author has nothing against, even for, but here’s how they will be promoted in practical terms. After all, their implementation requires some professional knowledge and the presence of one’s own national position, based on one’s own interests, which need to be competently and professionally promoted and protected, and not limited to general political statements. Or will we again rely on the help of external partners who don’t care about our national interests?..
Moreover, as has happened more than once before, by entrusting the promotion of our foreign policy initiatives, voiced by the country’s leaders at various international forums, to foreign highly competent consultants and advisors, it often turned out that they, using them as a cover, promoted their own interests, and about our national interests no one remembered…
As mentioned above, the author previously wrote a lot about the need not only for Kyrgyzstan to resume full-fledged activities in the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea and its working bodies, but also the importance of taking an active, competent position in it in order to promote our interests. In 2016, a strategic mistake was made – the decision to “freeze” work in IFAS, which needs to be corrected.
One way or another, authorized persons from Kyrgyzstan participate in IFAS summits, working and expert events, including meetings of the working group to improve the organizational structure and legal framework of the organization, but in the extremely dubious status of “frozen observers”.
On January 1, 2024, Kazakhstan assumed the chairmanship of IFAS, and Astana’s two-year term as chairman of the Interstate Commission for Sustainable Development of Central Asia ends in March. Our republic has prospects and the opportunity to head the second Commission (on cooperation in the field of environmental protection), and, by sending representatives to the IFAS Executive Committee in the Kazakh capital for three years, to qualitatively prepare for Kyrgyzstan to assume the functions of the next chairman of the fund in 2027-2029 .
However, all this will become possible only if, we repeat, if the government of Kyrgyzstan decides to “unfreeze” the activities of IFAS, i.e. will cancel the decision of our foreign policy department from 2016, as strategically incorrect and erroneous. And, the sooner the better.
The President of Kazakhstan K. Tokayev, in agreement with the founding states of IFAS, has already appointed a professional diplomat to the post of Chairman of the Executive Committee, who headed not only embassies, but also the Economic Cooperation Organization, a large regional interstate structure with headquarters in Tehran.
And now the countries of Central Asia are deciding on their representatives in the IFAS Executive Committee – the main working body, who will work in Astana for the next three years. And if we decide on “unfreezing”, then we will need to first of all decide on competent representatives from Kyrgyzstan to promote our national interests within this organization.
It should be noted that last fall, the President of Kazakhstan K. Tokayev, in his message to the people, proposed the formation of the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, by dividing functions with the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, which indicates the concentration of the policies of our neighbors on these issues, and their intention to carry out more focused regional policy.
In this regard, strengthening the water bloc within our government, like that of our neighbors, appears to facilitate more effective cooperation across the full range of issues related to transboundary water resources, climate change and environmental security.
To sum up what has been said, I would like to emphasize that the government’s steps on the water block as a whole seem to be steps in the right direction. However, questions arise about their systemic relationship with the environmental and foreign policy bloc of politics, more precisely, its regional Central Asian level. The near future will show how effective and systematic these steps will be.
I would also like to once again emphasize the thesis that has been constantly pursued in many original articles – only a competent, systematic and consistent domestic and foreign policy on issues of ecology, climate and water resources will allow us to be effective. As they say, God Himself has given us a beautiful Nature with rich water resources, and we must be able to manage them accordingly, in friendship and harmony with our farmers and water users, as well as with our neighbors and with all stakeholders and partners.
About the author: Dairov Ismail Aidargazievich is the director of the Regional Mountain Center of Central Asia (RGMCA).
Ismail Dairov has been working as director of the Russian State Center for Central Asian Studies since 2008. RGCC was created by the Interstate Commission for Sustainable Development of Central Asia to ensure environmental protection and sustainable development of mountain ecosystems. He is responsible for coordinating cooperation between Central Asian countries and the donor community/international organizations on mountain environmental issues, including climate change. Under his leadership, RGCC, in collaboration with experts from Central Asia and UNEP, developed a regional Review on adaptation of mountainous regions of Central Asia to climate change. Since December 2019, he has been an advisor to the Minister of Economy of the Kyrgyz Republic.
He has more than 30 years of experience in the field of ecology and climate change at the national and regional Central Asian levels and has over 100 published articles on these issues.
/// nCa, 25 January 2024 [Originally published by AKIpress]