TURKMEN GOVERNMENT COMMISSIONS THE FIRST STAGE OF THE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 000877

SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA/CEN; EEB

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV EINV EAGR TX
SUBJECT: TURKMEN GOVERNMENT COMMISSIONS THE FIRST STAGE OF THE
NOTORIOUS TURKMEN LAKE PROJECT

REF: 08 ASHGABAT 0694


1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for public Internet.


2. (SBU) SUMMARY: On July 15 the President will commission a 2,600
kilometer drainage canal built in the Karakum desert designed to
collect agricultural irrigation runoff. The commission of the canal
will mark the first phase of the government's twenty year project to
create a man-made lake in the desert named "Turkmen Lake of the
Golden Century". The government views the project as the solution
for lowering the underground water table and improving crop field
conditions, and is making ambitious plans to increase agricultural
production by using waste water to irrigate new lands.
International experts, however, have expressed concerns over the
impact of the lake and argue that there are other more practical and
ecologically safer ways to solve the country's water problems. It
is difficult to assess why this project has continued forward, but
may be connected to senior government level corruption. The
alternative hypothesis is that government technical experts are
afraid to tell senior officials it's a bad idea. END SUMMARY.


3. (U) At the July 3 cabinet meeting, Deputy Chairman for
Agriculture and Water Myratgeldy Akmamedov reported on the
completion of the first stage of the Turkmen Lake project: a 2,600
kilometer drainage canal that will collect runoff water from the
country's agricultural zones and send it to Garashor Depression in
northwestern Turkmenistan. President Berdimuhamedov will inaugurate
the canal in an official ceremony on July 15. The second phase of
the project calls for the reuse of the lake's water, once it is
filled, to increase crop production and livestock breeding.

INTERNATIONAL EXPERTS CONCERNED


4. (SBU) This controversial plan has triggered fears that the lake
will have long-term ecological implications throughout Central Asia.
The Turkmen Government has argued that building the lake will
facilitate reuse of runoff, and at the same time, somehow improve
regional water quality. International experts expressed serious
concern that the lake will reduce the volume of the Amu Darya River.
Critics of the project doubt that runoff water alone will be
sufficient to fill the lake, and worry that additional water will be
diverted from the Amu Darya River. A local water specialist
informally confirmed to the post economic assistant that there was
not enough runoff water to send to the lake. He said that the
topography and layout of local farms does not promote water drainage
and much is lost through evaporation from irrigated fields.
Additionally, both international and local experts agree that the
project will give only temporary relief to a rising underground
water table. Instead of investing millions of dollars in the
controversial project, they suggested that the government switch to
modern, water-saving irrigation techniques and construct a new
lining in the aging Karakum Canal, which experts claim loses as much
as 50 percent of the water it transports through seepage.

GOVERNMENT DOWNPLAYS THE CONCERN





5. (SBU) In a
recent government meeting, President Berdimuhamedov instructed the
government "to engage specialists and scholars to conduct a
comprehensive information campaign to explain the importance of the
man-made Karakum Lake for the successful socio-economic development
of Turkmenistan, preservation and enhancement of its natural
resources." Following the president's directive, official
newspapers published a series of press articles that described the
lake project as a critically important water saving project that
will improve farm fields by lowering the underground water table.
The articles claimed that the Turkmen Lake, once it is filled, will
act as a strategic water reserve for the country's agricultural
needs. National Institute of Deserts, Flora and Fauna Director

ASHGABAT 00000877 002 OF 002


Paltamed Esenov wrote that the plan was to demineralize the runoff
water by using local halophytes (salt marsh plants) planted
crosswise in the outlets of the drainage canals. Responding to the
concern of international experts, Esenov emphasized that the project
did not envisage drawing any water from the Amu Darya River.
Ministry of Water Resources official Guvanch Hanmedov wrote that the
lake will "reduce water logging and other land degradation".


6. (SBU) COMMENT: This project, which many observers believed would
die with former President Niyazov, seems destined to move
forward--albeit slowly--in spite of the expense and illogic. The
reason could be that Turkmen Lake construction is providing
significant financial kickbacks to someone in senior government
through corrupt contract practices. Alternatively, it could be that
senior decision makers firmly believe in the utility of the project,
and government technical experts fear speaking truth to power. END
COMMENT.