Kazakhstan and China join forces to protect transboundary rivers

Drought and water scarcity are problems in Central Asia (historical Turkestan) and Western China (East Turkestan). The issue of protecting transboundary rivers and rationalizing their water resources is therefore acute in the region.
Currently, Kazakhstan and China are developing a draft intergovernmental agreement on the sharing of transboundary river waters between the two countries. This resource Zakon.kz was informed by sources in the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The document is being developed in a joint working group, which includes specialists from both states. The main task in the development of the agreement - to ensure the inflow of water volume, guaranteeing the preservation of Lake Balkhash at an optimal level.

The main issue is the protection of the transboundary Ili River, which originates in China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and flows into Lake Balkhash in Kazakhstan. Due to overuse of the Ili River for economic and irrigation purposes, its flow into the lake has decreased significantly. The current flow of the river at the mouth is estimated at 12.3 km³/year, down from about 23 km³/year in the 1970s.

The Ili River, which flows into the western part of Lake Balkhash, contributes 73-80% of the total water inflow to the lake and desalinises its western part. As a result, the reduction in the river's flow both lowers the lake's level and allows water from the saltier eastern part of the lake to flow westwards, increasing the salinity of the water in that part and disrupting the ecological balance of this unique water body.

The rapid economic development of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China has led to a sharp increase in the abstraction of the Ili River for water supply. Similar processes are taking place in the Ili River basin in Kazakhstan, where the country's largest megacity, Almaty, is located. Therefore, both countries are interested in jointly solving problems related to the increased use of water from the transboundary Ili River and its tributaries, so that Lake Balkhash, into which this river flows, does not repeat the fate of the Aral Sea.

The example of interaction between Kazakhstan and China in the protection of transboundary rivers shows that other states in both Central Asia and the South Caucasus should address similar issues. All the more so as the protection of the transboundary Kura River and its tributaries is an acute issue in the countries of the South Caucasus. The state of the Kura River and its flow also affects the state and ecology of a unique body of water - the Caspian Sea, the level of which has been falling in recent years due to a decrease in the river's flow.

Vladimir Tskhvediani
Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey Strategic Partnership Information Support Centre

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