An ecological crisis
Uzbekistan is one of the countries most exposed to environmental disasters. Seventy years of Soviet presence and almost a century of cotton monoculture have left an indelible mark on the landscape. In the years following independence, the economy was far too depressed for the government and the population to concern themselves with environmental issues. With growth, it was time for massive reconstruction of the built environment. As a result, everything was built, everywhere, often in spite of common sense and without any concern for preserving nature and panoramic views. If anything, the situation is getting worse.
Emissions from fossil fuels also have an impact on climate change. In Uzbekistan, for example, the climate is warming twice as fast as the global average. In the space of a century, the temperature in Tashkent has risen by 2°C. The cause: greenhouse gas emissions, particularly from the energy sector, transport infrastructure, livestock farming, the situation inherited from the degradation of the Aral Sea, as well as industry and waste burning. The country is committed to reducing its emissions under the Paris agreements.
The Aral Sea disaster
The drying-up of the Aral Sea crystallizes the excesses of the agricultural model and, more broadly, of the programs for intensive exploitation of natural resources implemented during the Soviet era. The cultivation of cotton and wheat in the desert steppes was accompanied by the detour of water from the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers. These two rivers fed the Aral Sea, the4th largest inland sea in the world. In the absence of water renewal, the sea has lost 75% of its surface area and 90% of its volume since 1960.
The direct consequences of this situation are
-the decline in biodiversity (marine flora and fauna), the disappearance of local fisheries and the reduction in arable land. The climate itself has been affected, with less rainfall and salt and sand storms, leading to desertification, erosion and salinization of the soil.
-cooling of certain regions. Until the early 1960s, the Aral Sea, one of the world's largest enclosed seas, created a permanent evaporation bubble swollen with warm air, protecting it from the cold winds blowing in from Siberia to the north. With the disappearance of the Aral Sea, this protection disappeared. The effects were first felt in Karakalpakstan and Khorezm, and now it's not uncommon to see the temperature in Tashkent drop below -30°C in the middle of winter.
- another dramatic effect of the disappearance of the sea is thesilting-up that is affecting large parts of the country, with neither the government nor the local population able to effectively combat the advance of the desert. For example, when crossing the Kyzyl Kum desert from Bukhara to Khiva, sand dunes frequently encroach on the asphalt, with a few barriers planted over dozens of kilometers in an attempt to limit the damage. In Tourtkoul, Karakalpakia, in front of every house, you can see a pile of sand mixed with salt at the entrance. This is what the inhabitants regularly sweep up. This accelerated desertification is obviously having a major climatic impact, increasing albedo and altering soil composition, making it unsuitable for growing crops.
Water crisis
Pesticides and salt have also permeated rivers and groundwater, contributing to contamination of the entire food chain. The post-Soviet period has worsened the situation, with an increase in the use of phytosanitary products (20 to 25 kg per hectare compared with 3 kg during the Soviet era). The country's industry also contributes to the pollution of aquatic environments through the discharge of phenols and other toxic substances. The lack of water treatment plants exacerbates the environmental and health consequences.
According to scientific calculations, water resources in the Syr Darya river basin are set to shrink by 5% by 2050, and even more seriously, by 15% in the Amu Darya basin. In economic terms, this shortage of fresh water in Central Asia could lead to an 11% drop in the region's GDP within 25 years.
Air quality
In rural areas, salt and sandstorms, and the spraying of pesticides and defoliants on cotton fields, degrade air quality for many kilometers and even beyond the country's borders. The Aralkum desert is a hotbed of salt storms and toxic dust. Urban areas are not spared and suffer from industrial pollution, particularly Tashkent. In 2023, the annual value of particulate emissions was 41.20 μg/m³, putting Uzbekistan in 9th place worldwide, behind Nepal and Bahrain. This very high ranking indicates the country's huge problem with its air pollution levels.
The use of many old private vehicles with polluting engines, the extraction of precious metals and natural gas reserves, industries such as metallurgy, and more broadly the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, generate air pollution levels that often exceed the threshold values recommended by the World Health Organization. Most of these plants have no or inadequate filtration systems. Another phenomenon that characterizes urban environments, particularly the capital, is pollution linked to motor vehicle emissions.
The environmental turnaround
Uzbekistan's policy is changing, and a series of reforms is underway to make the green economy not only one of the country's growth vectors, but above all to limit the environmental and climatic impact of its development. In 2022, two operational agreements were signed with France during the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron. In 2018, a major electronic music festival was held next to Moynak, an ancient fishing village that has disappeared, on the former shores of the Aral Sea. One of the aims was to raise environmental awareness among the younger generation. Precisely because education is a key issue for the country, the National Ecology Committee intends to roll out environmental programs in schools and universities.
Another factor is economic growth, which means greater energy needs. The government aims to "increase the share of renewable energies to 25% of the electricity mix by 2030. Investments are being made in the solar, wind and hydroelectric power sectors. The country must also learn to be more economical with water, which it uses abundantly for irrigated agriculture, but which is becoming insufficient to meet demand." (Source AFD - Agence Française de Développement)
