Expert Says Water Sustainability Underpins Regional Integration

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — On 16 June 2026, the Forum of Think Tanks of Afghanistan, Central Asian Countries, and Azerbaijan was held in Kabul for the first time, establishing a new expert platform for dialogue on regional connectivity, sustainable development, and joint responses to transboundary challenges.

Dinara Ziganshina, Director of the Scientific Information Center of the Interstate Commission for Water Coordination (SIC ICWC) of Central Asia, participated in the forum.

According to her assessment, the contemporary regional agenda is increasingly focused on major infrastructure initiatives, such as transport corridors, energy lines, and trade routes. However, the stability of this connectivity is determined not only by the physical presence of corridors. Its reliable pillars are water and land resource management systems, modern infrastructure, qualified personnel, and the capacity of states to make decisions that account for climate risks.

The expert recalled that during a meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Founders of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea in April 2026, the region's leaders discussed improving water use efficiency, climate change adaptation, and the preservation of mountain ecosystems. Similar emphases were made at the Kabul forum, where Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi highlighted climate change, water scarcity, and environmental degradation among the key challenges facing the region.

Speaking about specific reform outcomes, Ziganshina cited Uzbekistan as an example, where the large-scale implementation of water-saving technologies, modernization of irrigation infrastructure, and the formation of a digital water accounting system are underway. These measures are yielding a measurable effect in the form of annual water resource savings. In 2026, the UN-Water structure included Uzbekistan among the countries selected for a specialized study on achieving Sustainable Development Goal No. 6, which relates to water and sanitation. The expert viewed this as recognition of the systemic nature of the ongoing reforms. Reform approaches are also being implemented in other countries of the region: Kazakhstan is expanding the use of modern irrigation technologies, Tajikistan is implementing its national water strategy, and Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan are taking steps to increase the efficiency of their water management systems.

Among the priority areas for expert interaction, Ziganshina highlighted joint climate and water assessments in the Amu Darya basin, the regular exchange of hydrological data, applied research on irrigation and water conservation, and training programs for young specialists. She emphasized the need to move from general declarations to concrete technical projects, including the modernization of canals, the introduction of water accounting systems, the prevention of soil degradation, and the deployment of early warning systems for climate risks.

The Afghan Qosh Tepa Canal project was addressed separately. In the expert's view, the project is of great importance for the socio-economic development of Afghanistan; however, it requires professional support in terms of basin planning, water consumption accounting, environmental impacts, and climate risks.

In conclusion, Ziganshina stressed that the future of regional connectivity depends on the ability of countries to combine large-scale infrastructure projects with sustainable natural resource management, while the task of the expert community is to provide this process with an analytical base, comparable data, and practical solutions.