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international

implementing the Water Action Agenda and to The Republic of Tajikistan is indeed a
identify obstacles and opportunities related to mountainous country and, of course, mountains,
the fulfilment of the commitments outlined in despite their inaccessibility, make my country
the Water Action Agenda. unique in its beauty and attractiveness. However,
its most important natural wealth must be
The Conference also seeks to share best practices considered freshwater reserves - the basis of life
and innovative solutions, strengthen partnerships on Earth.
among stakeholders, promote the role of water
in sustainable development, raise awareness It should be noted that for every hectare of
and mobilize political will to accelerate progress irrigated land in Tajikistan, there is more than
towards achieving the water-related goals of the one hectare of glaciers, or about six hundred
2030 Agenda and contribute to the High-Level thousand cubic metres of ice. My country
Political Forum on Sustainable Development occupies a leading position in the CIS, both in
in 2024 and the preparatory process of the UN terms of both glacial area and ice volume, as well
Water Conference in 2026. as the size of glaciers. The solid, frozen water
accumulated by nature over centuries is of vital
In addition to it, we would like to highlight the importance for Tajikistan and the Central Asian
important role of Tajikistan in advancing the region. Although the Republic of Tajikistan
water agenda at global processes like the UN occupies about a tenth of the total area of Central
Conferences on climate (COPs). It’s great to see Asia, more than half of the flow of the entire
the progress made at COP 26, COP 27, and COP region is formed on its territory. The glaciers of
3
28 in highlighting the significance of water in Tajikistan provide more than 13 km of water
achieving climate goals. annually - almost a quarter of the country’s total
river flow. Glaciers are not only accumulators but
In Glasgow, at COP 26, for the first time in the also moisture regulators: they soften fluctuations
history of climate conferences, a water pavilion in river discharge and lower the runoff variation
was organized, co-organized by Tajikistan, coefficient, which is beneficial for all sectors of
Great Britain, Germany and the Netherlands, the country’s economy.
together with other international partners. We
were able to show that water is key to achieving Unfortunately, at the present time, it is difficult to
climate goals. At COP 27 in Sharm el-Sheikh imagine a region of the world where the negative
we already made great progress because the impact of climate change on the environment,
official program included a separate thematic water resources and glaciers would not be felt.
day dedicated to water - “Water Day”. For the For example, in Tajikistan, as in Switzerland,
first time in the history of climate conferences, there has been a significant reduction in the area
the final document included one paragraph on of glaciers over the past decades, which are of vital
the role of water in achieving adaptation climate importance for the entire Central Asian region.
goals. We have made even more progress under
COP 28. Not only was water part of the COP 28 According to available data, there were more than
agenda, but countries and organizations were 14,500 glaciers in Tajikistan, but climate change
committing to funding and accelerating their has resulted in the disappearance of up to 1,000
actions to achieve climate-related water goals. We glaciers and the degradation of approximately
look forward to also working with Azerbaijan, 35% of the remaining glaciers. Recognizing water
the COP 29 host country, to strengthen the role resources as the main component of sustainable
of water in the COP 29 climate agenda. development, the countries of the region are
concerned with the changes in the hydrological
Tajikistan is a huge repository of glaciers, more cycle, which adversely affect water, energy and
than 60 per cent of all Central Asia glaciers are food security, and can lead to additional risks of
in Tajikistan. We have read that your country floods and severe droughts.
is the most privileged, a glacier state. Do your
glaciers face dangers the way the glaciers here The data provided by the public institute – ‘Tajik
in Switzerland are facing? Hydromet’ indicates that if the existing rates

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