The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) conducts environmental performance reviews in the UNECE region upon the government’s requests. There are 30 countries that have had at least one cycle of review, while some, including the Central Asian neighbors of Turkmenistan, have already had three cycles of reviews.
Turkmenistan had the first and the only review in 2012 which covered a wide range of environmental issues. This article presents the summary of the key issues presented in the report, including air, water, and soil pollution. Although the report is over 12 years old, many of the issues it highlighted are still pressing, with some, such as dust pollution and soil salinization, potentially worsening due to climate change.
Air pollution in Turkmenistan is a pressing issue, resulting from both natural and anthropogenic factors. One problem is the dust pollution from the dried seabed of Aral Sea, which is an especially critical problem in the Dashoguz velayat. Of the 40.2 million ha of agricultural land in the country, more than 1.7 million ha suffer from salt dust storms that become more frequent.
Every year about 430 thousand tonnes of aerosols are deposited on the agricultural groups on the irrigated land, whereas the remaining 170 thousand tonnes settle in the desert zones and populated areas.
The country carries out air quality monitoring with the Research and Production Centre on Environmental Monitoring (RPCEM), part of the National Institute of Deserts, Flora and Fauna, as a responsible agency. Manual monitoring is carried out across 17 stations in six biggest cities (Ashgabat, Balkanabat, Dashoguz, Mary, Turkmenabat, Turkmenbashi) where probes are taken 3 times/day for 20 minutes which are then analyzed in laboratories. The stations measure dust, SO2, N2O, and NO2 at all stations, but others such as CO, H2S and chlorine are measured only in some stations. The collected data is stored in the database of RPCEM but was not found on the official website.
Industrial emissions, particularly from the oil and gas industry, constitute the majority of emissions in the west and the east of the country. According to the estimates, the oil industry accounts for 75-80% of total pollutant emissions, including NOx, SOx, CO, CO2, CH4, and H2S.
The report highlights the refinery in Turkmenbashi near the Caspian Sea as a major source of air, water, and land pollution, with a wide range of environmental impacts due to refinery operations. Despite the government having the detailed data on pollution sources and volumes emitted during oil and gas activities, the data is not made public.
Water pollution and management
Turkmenistan also faces significant water management challenges, primarily caused by old and inefficient irrigation methods and salinization of agricultural lands. Over 60% of agricultural land in the country is reported to be salinized due to old irrigation methods that consume 16-19 km3 of water annually at 2 million ha of irrigated land. There are efforts to mitigate salinization with the drainage-collector systems for Lake Altyn Asyr that are expected to collect drainage wastewater, lower the groundwater levels and stop the salinization process.
At the time of the report, the quality of water resources was poor due to high salinity levels. Most irrigated areas had moderately salty water, with salt levels ranging from 1-3 grams per liter. However, a significant area of around 688,000 hectares had very salty water, with more than 5 grams of salt per liter. On the other hand, some areas, totaling about 60,000 hectares, had relatively fresh water with less than 1 gram of salt per liter. The worst-affected area was Ahal, where over a third of the irrigated land had extremely salty water, with more than 10 grams of salt per liter. In contrast, Lebap and Dashoguz had relatively low salinity levels, making them stand out as exceptions to the overall trend.
Agriculture is the main user of water in the country. For example, Dashoguz velayat allocates nearly all of its water to agriculture. While some areas, such as Ahal, Balkan, and Mary, have modernized their irrigation systems, others like Dashoguz and Lebap use older networks. As a result, water usage for irrigation in these regions is extremely high, far exceeding the national average. In fact, some areas use as much as 18,400-18,800 cubic meters of water per hectare. This excessive water use is a concern, as it surpasses the standards for efficient agricultural practices.
Turkmenistan relies on rivers formed outside its borders, with the Amu Darya supplying 22 km3 of water annually and the Murgam river adding 1.631 km3. The country also has 3.5 million m3 of fresh groundwater daily and 124 sources of good drinking water. However, 50% of water consumption is lost due to inefficiencies, making urgent conservation measures necessary.
There are also issues with the drinking water supply in the country. Most of the systems are old as they were built in 1950-1980. The water quality does not always match the standards and the quantity is also limited and there are only 17 water treatment facilities.
While 60% of the urban population gets water from centralized water supply with almost no interruptions, others have only 6-8 hours of water supply per day. In rural areas, only 42% have access to water. The water consumption in the country is also high, with around 320 liters of water per person per day and as high as 490 liters per day in Ashgabat.
Soil pollution and land degradation
The area of Turkmenistan is 49.12 million ha, of which 33.9 million ha are classified as agricultural land. Most of it, however, is a desert pasture. There are many environmental challenges related to soil and land in the country such as degradation of pasture lands, waterlogging in desert ranges, and salinization of irrigated lands.
Oil and gas production, in particular at the fields in Karakum, has degraded large areas. Over 20 years, 39 gas fields, 18 oil fields, and 400 exploratory gas fields have caused vegetation cover loss of 300-600 ha around each facility. Drilling additionally degrades 3.5-4 ha of land each. Stripping of vegetation cover facilitates creation of moving sand dunes that may disrupt operations and damage machinery.
Apart from industrial activities, there is also soil pollution due to heavy pesticides and mineral fertilizer use. An estimated fertilizer use in the country is about 200 to 250 thousand tonnes per year. However, due to lack of soil analysis, it is not possible to estimate their impact on soil quality.
Environmental concerns about oil spills
Oil and gas activities in the country pose additional environmental risks beyond pollution, including oil spills near the Caspian Sea. Estimates suggest that for every million tonnes of oil produced, around 131 tonnes are spilled, with offshore production at Cheleken potentially leading to over 500 tonnes of crude oil spills annually. The total oil spills in western Turkmenistan could amount to around 5,000 tonnes per year. However, the lack of data from the government and oil companies makes it difficult to assess the exact environmental impacts of these spills.
