Central Asia agrees on reservoir operating regimes for 2026-2027

The countries of the region have agreed on reservoir operating regimes and water distribution for the upcoming non-growing season. The agreements were reached at the 95th meeting of the Interstate Commission for Water Coordination (ICWC), held in the Avaza National Tourist Zone, the Turkmen Foreign Ministry reported.

Delegations from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan took part. The meeting was organized by the Turkmen side and chaired by Gendzhiev, head of Turkmenistan’s State Committee for Water Management.

Participants included Kazakhstan’s Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation N. Nurzhigitov, Uzbekistan’s Minister of Water Management Sh. Khamraev, and Tajikistan’s representative D. Abdurazokzoda. Also in attendance were representatives of the region’s water management agencies, the ICWC Secretariat, the Amudarya and Syrdarya Basin Water Organizations, the ICWC Scientific Information Center, and the Executive Committee of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS).

The participants reviewed how water withdrawal limits were used and how reservoirs operated in the Syrdarya and Amudarya basins during the 2026 growing season. Following the discussion, the parties agreed on water distribution and the forecast operating regimes of reservoir cascades for the 2026-2027 non-growing season.

The meeting also reviewed the implementation of decisions made at the summits of the IFAS founding states’ heads of state. Topics included the Aral Sea Basin Program (ASBP-4), the introduction of water-saving and digital technologies, adaptation to climate change, and the development of water diplomacy and scientific capacity.