Minister Shavkat Khamroev is part of the Uzbek delegation. Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Administration Timur Butunbaev also addressed the July 7 session. Officials discussed the state’s water policy, budget allocations for this area, and current priorities. The delegation is also holding talks with U.S. public and private organizations.

In a conversation with a Kun.uz journalist in New York, Water Resources Minister Shavkat Khamroev stated that the country’s water deficit will reach 15 billion cubic meters by 2030.

“Water shortages are a major problem. It’s good that there was more rainfall this year. Since independence, we’ve been drawing 10-12 billion cubic meters less from rivers than we used to. By 2030, the deficit will reach 15 billion cubic meters. Therefore, we must conserve water now, more widely implement drip irrigation, and increase water conservation efforts ,” the minister said.

It has become known that this year, up to 4-4.2 percent of the state budget has been allocated to water management.

The UN has included Uzbekistan among countries with positive trends in terms of water stress levels. What does this mean?

“Due to climate change, reduced precipitation, and shallow rivers, we were experiencing a 169 percent water stress. However, from 2017 to 2022, we managed to reduce it to 122 percent—a 47 percent reduction. By the end of this year, we’ll reach 117 percent—another 5 percent reduction. And by 2030, we’ll reduce this stress to 95 percent. Water is declining. Despite the decrease in total water intake and precipitation, the population barely notices. We’re already saving 11 billion cubic meters of water per year ,” the minister responded to a question from Kun.uz.

As a reminder, a plenary session with the participation of UN Secretary-General António Guterres is scheduled as part of the Political Forum in New York.

Google machine translated