TURKMENISTAN: UN REGIONAL CENTER SEES WATER AS A

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 000217 SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/CEN E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/16/2020 TAGS: PGOV SENV PREL EAID UN ZK TX SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: UN REGIONAL CENTER SEES WATER AS A POLITICAL ISSUE REF: A. 09 ASHGABAT 1017 ¶B. 09 ASHGABAT 100 Classified By: Acting DCM Peter Eckstrom, Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Finding a way to get Central Asian countries to come to agreement on water sharing is one of the top priorities of the United Nations Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia. The Center is organizing workshops and conferences that focus on improving negotiating skills and knowledge about international law on water resources, aimed at building confidence and trust between Central Asian governments. The Center views the water sharing issue as political, not technical. If the political will among Central Asian leaders exists, as the Center believes it does, then they can overcome any remaining technical problems in order to sign a regional agreement. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) The issue of Central Asian water and energy resources is one of the top three priorities of the United Nations Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA) for 2009-2011, according to Fedor Klimtchouk, the Deputy Head of the Center. He explained that UNRCCA was established in 2007 at the request of the five Central Asian governments, and that they had also chosen the priority issues for 2009-2011. Klimtchouk said that UNRCCA's strategy was to focus on building negotiation skills and an understanding of international law, in order to give the countries confidence to develop agreements with each other. He noted that only Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have signed the 1992 United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes. Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan argue that the convention benefits downstream countries more than upstream countries, and so are looking for another mechanism for a regional agreement. ¶3. (C) Klimtchouk asserted that the Central Asian countries all participate in conferences and workshops, but that so far the only results have been ad hoc agreements valid for only one winter season (ref A). He said that Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are the most interested in a multilateral regional agreement. Uzbekistan, in contrast, prefers to develop bilateral agreements with its neighbors. Klimtchouk said that Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan are probably motivated as much by a desire to create political good and show regional leadership, as by concern about water resources. Turkmenistan, according to Klimtchouk, has not yet suffered from a lack of water, but President Berdimuhamedov realizes that it will pose problems for irrigation in the future, and so is committed to finding a solution. ¶4. (C) On February 17, deputy foreign ministers of the five Cental Asian countries will meet in Almaty, Kazakhstan to again discuss water resources. At this meeting the officials will talk about a UNRCCA proposal for a regular platform for discussions. According to Klimtchouk, Turkmenistan has already agreed to the proposal. The regular platform would mean that designated representatives of each government would meet at regular intervals specifically to discuss regional water issues and possible agreements. To date, regional water talks have taken place either at the margins of a Commonwealth of Independent States summit, as in October 2008 (ref B),or as part of a broader issue, such as the April 2009 conference for the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea. ¶5. (SBU) The UNRCCA program focuses on the political aspects of getting to an agreement on sharing water in Central Asia, not the technical aspects. Klimtchouk said that the Central ASHGABAT 00000217 002 OF 002 Asian countries still have experts from the Soviet era who know how the system for exchanging water for natural gas worked then. In addition, the experts have trained younger people, so there is a new generation with relevant knowledge. The UN Economic Commission for Europe provides technical expertise when the Central Asian countries request it, and the World Bank conducts feasibility studies for new projects, including the Roghun dam project in Tajikistan. Klimtchouk noted that Uzbekistan and Tajikistan have signed a terms of reference agreement for the Roghun feasibility study. ¶6. (C) Klimtchouk said that for the UNRCCA, the best case outcome of their programs would be a long-term regional agreement on water sharing. He added that the UNRCCA did not have a preference as to whether this long-term agreement took the form of one multilateral agreement or multiple bilateral agreements. The most important point was to develop a long-term system, instead of relying on ad hoc agreements drawn up for one season. Klimtchouk said the biggest obstacle was lack of trust between the countries, but he thought that the UNRCCA workshops were having an impact. The UNRCCA will continue its program and will hold a seminar in May about dispute resolution. ¶7. (C) COMMENT: The UNRCCA's approach to helping Central Asia with its water resources issue highlights that it views the problem as a political one, not a technical one. Klimtchouk's comments made it clear that he sees building trust as the Center's primary goal. Given that the Center's mandate stems from the wishes of the Central Asian countries, it is encouraging to see that they are prioritizing areas that will lead to a political solution. Climate change and the evaporating of the Aral Sea will increase the difficulty of finding a way to share water that is acceptable to everyone. However, if the political will exists, as Klimtchouk believes it does, then the technical obstacles can be overcome. END COMMENT. CURRAN