Water of Amudarya may decrease sharply due to Kushtepa canal being built by Taliban

Kushtepa canal. Satellite image / Photo: Sreda.uz

“The Kushtepa canal is not so small that it is already clearly visible from space. Construction continues on a 65-kilometer section.

The canal is being built to receive 10 cubic kilometers of water from the Amudarya per year. Even if half of the water from the transboundary river is taken to the new canal, it will have a significant impact on the downstream countries,” the journalist said.

Today, the average annual flow of Amudarya is 79 cubic kilometers. Its length from its source to the Aral Sea is 2540 km. However, due to the lowering of the level, the river no longer reaches the Aral Sea. Now the water from the river ends in the Mejdurechensk reservoir, which feeds the Aral lakes.

During periods of low water, which occur frequently in recent decades, the flow of water along Amudarya was: in 2000 – 41.7 cubic kilometers, in 2008 – 34.9 cubic kilometers, in 2012 – 45.4 cubic kilometers.

According to Natalya Shulepina, currently there are quotas established in the USSR in the 1980s in the distribution of water among the five CIS countries. That is, no matter how much water flows along the river, it will be distributed according to quotas. Now Afghanistan also receives water from Amudarya.

As the farming season begins this year, the water flow from upstream will decrease again. This has implications not only for the countries receiving water from it, but also for the river itself, its hydrology, and the surrounding landscape.

At this point, the fact that the Central Asian countries do not have any agreement on water distribution with Afghanistan may cause big problems. Because Afghanistan has not signed the UN Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes.

“The prediction that Afghanistan will claim its right to water was made by the Inter-State Coordinating Water Commission of the Central Asian countries. And so, it happened.

What are “transboundary waters” and how should they be treated under international law? The UN Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes defines them as follows: “Transboundary waters are any natural or artificial waters that mark, cross, or lie within the boundaries between two or more countries”.

Article 9 of the Convention provides that the parties may enter into bilateral or multilateral treaties or other agreements on an equal basis.

In fact, serious negotiations are underway with the Afghan side. 6 years is a short time to build a canal. It is evident that saving water resources and introducing water-saving technologies are vital in the countries of the region,” our colleague, who emphasized the importance of cooperation and agreements with neighboring countries in the use of Amudarya waters, said.