The Central Asian countries share two great rivers – the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya – that have long since served as a life blood for this region.
However, drying up of the Aral Sea has adversely affected the lives of the population in the region. Growing water scarcity and deterioration of water quality have led to degradation of soil and vegetation, catastrophic changes in flora and fauna, decline in processing fisheries, and underperformance of irrigated agriculture.
In this context, the five Central Asian states have established the International Fund for saving the Aral Sea (IFAS) to halt and mitigate consequences of the disaster. Since formation, the IFAS has proven itself as a unique platform for regional cooperation in sharing transboundary water and addressing environmental and socio-economic problems in the Aral Sea basin and become even more important given the emerging challenges that the region faces in light of climate change.
The IFAS celebrated its 30-year jubilee in 2023. A series of events was organised in the course of the year to re-attract attention of the world community to the region. The major of them was the International Conference “Central Asia: towards sustainable future through strong regional institution” held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan on 5-7 June. The Conference brought together high ranking officials, policy-makers, experts, and enthusiasts from the IFAS member-states and other regions to reflect on the past accomplishments, provide insight into current streams of cooperation and develop an agenda for the future vision through the four interactive dialogue sessions, side and special events.
Galustyan A.G., Ph.D., Usmanova O.K.
Scientific Information Center of the Interstate Commission for Water Coordination (SIC ICWC)