Water balance of the Republic of Uzbekistan under conditions of water scarcity: Problems and solutions

Abstract

Uzbekistan has a severe water shortage issue as a result of the country's rapid economic growth and population rise. Water shortage is mostly caused by inadequate water management, unsustainable water usage in industry and agriculture, and climate change. The annual population growth across the republic, while maintaining the current level of water consumption per capita, leads to a continuous increase in the additional demand for water resources by municipal services. With the current level of water consumption per capita, the annual additional demand for water resources by municipal services increases by 16-20 mln.m3 . The development of the industry is also expected to lead to an increase in the demand of this sector. To solve the problem of water scarcity in Uzbekistan, it is necessary to develop comprehensive measures that include improving water resource management, introducing effective technologies in agriculture and industry, increasing public awareness about the rational use of water and promoting international cooperation in the field of water resource management. The above-mentioned data allowed to compile a water balance for the sectors of the national economy of the Republic of Uzbekistan for various scenarios of water supply, with the presence of problems being the subject of research in this study.