Research Spells Hope for Aral Sea


New IWMI research shows that if part of the saline, rice-producing areas in Central Asia's Syr Darya Basin were taken out of production, it would be possible to double the flow of water into the dying Aral Sea.

IWMI researchers, in partnership with the Scientific Information Center of Interstate Coordination Water Commission (SIC ICWC), have been conducting research in the Amu Darya and Syr Darya river basins that span five countries across Central Asia. The research aims to address the region's growing water crisis by improving water management at local, national and regional levels.

"IWMI's research shows the urgent need for an integrated approach to water management in the region," says Mehmood ul Hassan, an IWMI researcher based in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. "This involves a commitment to reforms in the water sector combined with innovative agricultural practices."

Most of the water from the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers is withdrawn for irrigation-leaving very little to feed the Aral Sea. IWMI research estimates the net cost of taking 132,000 hectares of salinized land out of production would be less than US$30 million, yet in terms of ecological value of the irrigation water saved, the benefits for the future of the Aral Sea would be far greater. If current water (mis)management trends continue, researchers predict the Aral Sea will dry out completely by the year 2020.

The results of a recent World Bank-sponsored water savings competition and further monitoring of user-driven conservation efforts within the Syr Darya basin indicate cause for hope. IWMI and SIC ICWC scientists found that the basin-wide application of water conservation strategies could save as much as 36 km3 of water per year. According to FAO data, this would be enough to stabilize the sea at its 1990 level, but would not address the continuing environmental degradation of the exposed sea bed.

In an effort to make the research results better known in Central Asia and beyond, a database has been created on farming practices that can save water and which can be adopted throughout the region and other water-scarce river basins. IWMI researchers and partners in the region-notably the Scientific Information Center of the Interstate Commission for Water Coordination of Central Asia and the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea-have adapted lessons learned from over 15 years of research on water user associations in the Central Asian context. Guidelines and best practices to support the work of Government agencies, NGOs and donors are available on a special Central Asia Water Users web page in Uzbek, Russian, Tajik and English.

"Our aim is to find ways of producing more food with less water in a sustainable way that is beneficial to the environment," emphasizes Hassan.
For more information, visit www.iwmi.org/centralasiawaterusers