ENVIRONMENT AND SECURITY
Oil and gas reserves in the Amu Darya basin Energy resources are an important factor in the relations of Amu Darya basin countries. There are many oil-gas fields located along the border between Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, making the region straddling the two countries an area of high strategic and economic value31. Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are well endowed with non-renewable energy resources such as natural gas. Revenue generated by the export of fossil fuels is an essential component in the state budget of these countries. In 1990 Turkmen gas represented almost 11 per cent of total Soviet gas production. In an energy-hungry world the presence of large reserves of fossil fuels has prompted the interest of states and companies alike. After independence Turkmenistan invested in its energy sector and derived considerable advantage from high global market prices for oil32. It was able to increase its foreign currency reserves and reduce external debt. Turkmenistan also benefited from improved terms of payment for its natural gas exports to Russia and Ukraine, two of the country's key commercial partners. Furthermore, the recent agreement with China covering the major gas pipeline with capacity up to 40 billion m3 and the new natural-gas pipeline to Iran marks a major step towards diversification of Turkmenistan’s energy routes. Another project under discussion is the Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline (TAP) of similar capacity, which would bring the Turkmen gas to Pakistan and India. Unlike oil, natural gas has no well established price. Uzbekistan is also a natural gas producer, and a transit country for pipelines going from Turkmenistan to Russia and China. The latest agreement between the Uzbek and Russian authorities provides for a significant increase in the volume of gas exports, up to 15 billion m3. Moreover, intense oil-gas exploration is currently underway in the southern Aral Sea area and the Amu Darya delta. Uzbekistan uses most of the fossil fuel it produces. The country is also a key energy partner for Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, supplying them with natural gas33. Currently Afghanistan has very limited capacity for natural gas production and is trying to attract foreign investment to develop several gas fields north of Shiberghan containing over 50 billion m3. At the same time, exploratory work for natural gas is underway in Tajikistan, assisted by Russia’s “Gazprom”.
Irrigated agriculture posed other problems with negative impacts on the natural environment as well as on the health and socio-economic conditions of the region’s population. The water infrastructure was developed with little concern for the environment. The Aral Sea crisis is testimony to the lack of environmental concern among Soviet agriculture and water planners. The Amu Darya basin is also a region of energy and mineral production. Gold extraction is an important economic activity for Uzbekistan and also for Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan29. More than 90 per cent of Uzbekistan’s oil and gas production is concentrated along the Amu Darya in the Bukhara-Qarshi zone and the largest part of Turkmenistan’s gas reserves are also located in the middle Amu Darya basin30. The abundance of both renewable and non-renewable energy resources in the Amu Darya River basin will secure
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the region’s geopolitical significance for nearby energyhungry economies such as China, India, Pakistan and Western European countries and energy-transit countries such as Russia, Afghanistan and Iran. Obtaining a stable energy supply is becoming a matter of national security and the focus of geopolitical and economic concerns. The drive towards energy security and away from extreme energy dependence can have both positive and negative environmental effects, locally and globally, depending on which resources, solutions and technologies are prioritized. Countries which depend on exports of natural resources are exposed to the risk of price fluctuation. For example, after rising sharply, oil prices fell in 2008 depriving states of part of their revenue. The price of commodities such as cotton and aluminium also dropped further reducing state revenue and hence the governments’ capacities not only to deal with external shocks and crisis but also to provide funding for key sectors such as energy, water or agriculture.