A large-scale regional project is being launched in Tajikistan, focused on the first concrete steps and actions by the local communities on the rational management of water resources in the region.
This problem is so important for all Central Asian countries that the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC) considered it timely and relevant to initiate a regional transboundary project on sustainable water use for Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan. The issue of water resources management for Tajikistan, a country with a sharply continental and arid climate, where only 7% of the territory falls on the valley part, and the rest is mountains, is especially relevant in the conditions of modern climatic realities.
The regional project will be implemented jointly with the relevant government agencies of the Central Asian countries. The project is worth over 500 thousand US dollars and involves more than 10,000 direct beneficiaries and 180,000 indirect recipients in Central Asian countries.
The regional project “Enhancing economic independence and Improving the situation of women in Central Asia through access to irrigation water and infrastructure” covers Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Financial support for this socially significant project is provided by the international charitable foundation “The Coca-Cola Foundation”.
An introductory workshop in Dushanbe on 24 November 2023 discussed the basic principles of coordination and collaboration at the country and regional levels to create a more effective and sustainable framework for addressing common challenges in water management and environmental sustainability.
The project, firstly, will help solve the problem of water scarcity by introducing new irrigation methods and technologies without compromising crop yields. Second, farms run by women in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan will be able to reduce their dependence on irrigation water scarcity, increase productivity, and generally improve the sustainability of agriculture in the region. The project will work with local communities and government agencies in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to identify areas most in need of irrigation water and infrastructure.
In Tajikistan, the project will cover the Bokhtar district of the Khatlon region and the Vahdat district of republican subordination. The project will cover 663 women and 450 young people as direct beneficiaries and 42,611 indirect beneficiaries.
As a result of the project, the economic situation of more than 10,000 people (5,662 women) in Central Asian countries will be improved, and more than 180,000 people will feel the indirect positive effect of the project results.
Contact person – Zebuniso Muminzoda, Director of the CAREC Country Office for Tajikistan, tajikistan@carececo.org
