On June 27, a two-day International Conference devoted to the reduction of natural disasters caused by water took place in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Representatives of 35 countries and 38 leading international organizations took part in the conference, the upshot of which being the signing of the Dushanbe Declaration. This declaration states perplexity in the face of the growing frequency of natural disasters related to water in the region of Central Asia. To achieve such an attitude, participants were asked to develop regional water doctrines that would balance the conflicting needs in energy and agriculture of the countries involved, and that would conform to universal principals of water politics.

At the conference, Tajik president Emomali Rahmon reported that 300 people have perished in the last eight years in Tajikistan because of mudflows in early spring. Overall, damage from water-related cataclysms in the country was estimated at around $65 million. In the president’s speech, special emphasis stressed the growing problem of drought and its severe consequences, especially this year. To this end, the president somberly reported that the total shortage of water for 2008 constitutes 30-35% compared to the average annual level of water. With such water shortages, more than 60,000 hectares of land were left uncultivated. President Rahmon ended his speech by once again asking neighboring countries to join efforts to resolve regional water issues, suggesting a UN General Assembly sitting on the issues of water in the region as well.

The problem of water shortages has plagued Tajikistan for at least 10 last years, but it became especially acute in the last two years The shortage of water resources was presented as the main reason for this year’s prolonged energy cuts, which lasted almost until June, instead of the usual April. Low influx of water into rivers has also been an important reason for Tajikistan’s late repayment of its energy debt to Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan provide Tajikistan with electricity during winter on the agreement that it will return double that quantity in summer. Finally, the water shortage is bankrupting the rural economy that is the main consumer of water, in the circumstances that even minute reductions of water to the fields causes tremendous negative consequences.

It is estimated that when the deficit of water constitutes 10%, it reduces crop capacity by 8%, the latter increasing disproportionally to the first number. At the current state of affairs, when water shortage constitutes 30%, up to 40% of agricultural grounds met losses in the country. This year is marked as one of the most arid of the last decade and the level of water in the Nurek reservoir alone is 9 meters lower than this time last year.

Water shortages have also brought cotton-growing farms in the Soghd Region close to the critical point. There are two main problems that farmers encounter: first, water shortages and droughts; second, lack of finances for minerals and fertilizers to inject into cotton. Consequently, around 8,000 hectares still did not sprout, an unusually high figure for the region. Desperate farmers asked bankers and water-transport officials to lend them the missing resources – water and finances. Many regional experts criticize farmers for not sowing crops less water-demanding than cotton. However, cotton, unlike other agricultural goods, does not require a lot of hand work and is always in demand. These characteristics make cotton very attractive to farmers, especially when taking into account the huge outflow of labor and the fewer hands thus left for field work, as well as farmers' desire to assure themselves that their crops will sell.

Regional experts see several solutions to the low water inflow into rivers, one of which is the gradual transition to drip irrigation. It is estimated that transition to the drip irrigation will cost somewhere from $3,000 to $9,000 per hectare of land, depending on the nature of the crop. Drip irrigation will reduce water expenditure by a factor of 2 or 3, thus saving vast amounts of water. Lack of long-term forecasts is another reason for the severity and unpredictability of droughts. The creation of hydro-posts and thorough research on climatic conditions should become a priority to forecast and fight droughts. Finally, construction of big reservoirs is another method; however its realization is rather problematic since the interests of the neighboring countries is involved.

According to Malik Azizov, head of the regional water industry, prices for water should be raised. In 2007, water was sold to farmers at a value of 2.6 million Somoni, while energy use amounted to 3.5 million Somoni: but the repair and maintenance system cost 6-7 million Somoni. In the current state of affairs, the artificially low prices for water make individual, industrial and agricultural users behave irrationally, ignorant of and providing inadequate funds for the water quality system’s improvements.