National parks and protected areas
The country is covered by deserts, for almost 80% of its surface. The mountains in the east, at over 4,000 metres, contrast with the plain areas. The country's two major rivers, the Amu Darya and Syr Darya, are the most important river basins in Central Asia, used and channelled for irrigation. Each of these natural environments is home to characteristic flora and fauna. The country has about 15 nature reserves (zapovedniki
) and two national parks.The Zaamin National Park
, south of the capital, was created in 1926. Located in the western part of the Turkestan mountain range, it shelters valleys with orchards and slopes covered with juniper trees. The mountainous part is composed of mountain pastures, canyons and waterfalls. The park is home to more than 700 species of plants and 40 mammals including the famous snow leopard, Turkestan lynx and the Asian black bear.The Chatkal National Park
is located northeast of the capital, with the Tian Shan Mountains as a backdrop. Among its treasures, the lake of Charvak but also the Besthor peaks at 4,299 m and Mount Adelung at 4,301 m. The park is home to several endangered plant and animal species, as well as petroglyphs dating from the Stone Age.The Hissar Nature Reserve,
with its 750 km2 area, is the largest in the country, east of Chakhrisabz.The Bala Tugai reserve, west of Berouni, easily accessible, will delight nature lovers. It is a forest massif in the middle of the Kyzyl Kum desert, where you can observe many animals, including hares, deer, desert cats and foxes.
Generally speaking, natural areas suffer from a lack of funding, especially to enforce regulations that are often not very restrictive. Poaching and the illegal felling of trees is one of the problems. But the country's greatest ecological disaster - if not the world's - is the result of the agricultural development policy initiated in the 1960s.The ecological disaster of the Aral Sea
The drying up of the Aral Sea crystallises the excesses of the agricultural model and more widely of the programmes of intensive exploitation of natural resources set up during the Soviet era. The cultivation of cotton and wheat in the desert steppes was thus accompanied by the diversion of the waters of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya. These two rivers fed the Aral Sea, thefourth largest inland sea in the world. In the absence of water renewal, the sea has lost 75% of its surface area and 90% of its volume since 1960. The consequences of this situation are the decline in biodiversity (marine fauna and flora), the disappearance of local fisheries and the reduction of arable land. The climate, itself impacted, with less rain, salt and sand storms, has led to desertification, erosion and salinization of the soil.
Water management
Pesticides and salt have also impregnated rivers and groundwater and contribute to contamination of the entire food chain. The post-Soviet period seems to have aggravated the situation, with an increase in the use of plant protection products (20-25 kg per hectare compared to 3 kg during the Soviet era). The country's industry also contributes to the pollution of the aquatic environment through the discharge of phenols and other toxic substances. The lack of water treatment plants exacerbates the environmental and health consequences in a country where both drinking water and sanitation systems are lacking.
Air quality
In rural areas, salt and sand storms and the application of pesticides and defoliants to cotton fields degrade air quality for many kilometres and even beyond the country's borders. The Aralkoum Desert, which has taken the place of the Aral Sea, is a hotbed of salt storms and toxic dust. Urban areas are not spared and suffer from industrial pollution. Industries, such as metallurgy and, more broadly, the combustion of fossil fuels, generate air pollution whose level often exceeds the threshold values recommended by the World Health Organization. Most facilities do not have filtration systems or they are deficient. Another phenomenon that characterizes urban areas, especially the capital city, is pollution from motor vehicle emissions.
Climate change
Emissions from fossil fuels also have an impact on climate change. In Uzbekistan, for example, the climate is warming twice as fast as the global average. In one century, Tashkent's temperature has risen by 2°C. At issue: greenhouse gas emissions, particularly from the energy sector, transport infrastructure, livestock farming, the situation inherited from the degradation of the Aral Sea, but also industry and waste burning. The country has committed itself, within the framework of the Paris agreements, to a reduction in its emissions. Action programmes have been launched with the UNDP, for the construction of low-emission buildings, the abandonment of hydrofluorocarbons, and the development of better public transport systems (including bicycle paths).
Perspectives
Generally speaking, the environment does not appear to be a priority and the measures put in place have not proved effective due to a lack of means and political will to constrain the industrial oligarchy. There is also little awareness of environmental issues among the inhabitants, even though NGOs are active at the local level. In 2018 a major electronic music festival was held next to Moynak, a former fishing village that has disappeared, on the former shores of the Aral Sea. One of the aims of the event was to raise environmental awareness among the younger generation. Specifically, education is an issue for the country, and the National Ecology Committee intends to implement environmental programmes in schools and universities.
