Environmental issues in Tajikistan
[3] Additionally, because of inadequate sanitation facilities, untreated industrial waste (particularly from aluminum production) and sewage combine with agricultural runoff to cause water pollution in the Aral Sea Basin.
[1][2] Soviet-Era mining operations in Tajikistan extracted and processed uranium, gold, antimony, tungsten, mercury, and molybdenum, each of which is known to leave toxic waste that also threatens water quality.
[6] Much of Tajikistan's irrigation and water treatment systems have not been updated since the end of the Soviet Era, after which a catastrophic civil war ravaged much of the countryside and further damaged already corroding infrastructure.
Tajikistan has been slow to update these water systems due to a multitude of political and economic factors, such as a limited budget and mounting debt since the conclusion of the civil war.
Irrigation, in addition to the construction of hydroelectric dams like the Rogun on the Vakhsh, Panj, and Amu rivers without consultation, has resulted in water shortages and public outcry in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan,[2] as well as contributed to the shrinking of the Aral Sea.
13% of Tajiks have access to public sewage and 34% are without indoor plumbing or lavatories, resulting in 38% of the population depending on water from potentially contaminated sources and subsequent outbreaks of typhoid and cholera.
[2] Other causes of water and air pollution include pesticides (particularly DDT and HCH) and fertilizers in surface runoff (exacerbated by landslides from soil degradation),[1] industrial waste, burning of fossil fuels, and tailings from former Soviet mining operations.
After the dissolution of the USSR, the region-wide network of data collection posts was fragmented, which, in combination with the destruction of hydroposts during the civil war, has restrained Tajikistan's access to information on pollution in its rivers and its subsequent response.
[10] No longer a part of a Soviet-wide supply chain, pressure for TALCO to match Soviet-Era production levels has exacerbated the environmental effects of aluminum manufacturing.
Comparatively minimal cleanup efforts by Soviet and Tajik governments since the abandonment of the mines, in conjunction with Tajikistan's steep mountain topography, have caused uranium tailings to be carried by landslides into soil, pastures and public water sources.
[12][13] Studies in Taboshar and Digmai pit lakes and surrounding areas showed Uranium concentrations to be significantly higher than international recommendations in drinking water and local fish used for consumption.
[5][16] Because the majority of rural populations are near landless, stripping steep slopes of water in mountainous areas is common practice, causing landslides and soil degradation.
Additionally, high energy prices caused by lacking infrastructure have forced rural populations to turn to illegal logging practices for fuel during the winter.
