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Soft Power of Tajikistan on the Water Agenda: Cross-Scale Dynamics

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Book cover Water Resources in Central Asia: International Context

Part of the book series: The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry ((HEC,volume 85))

Abstract

Freshwater is among the major resources of Tajikistan. With the majority of the surface water originating from its territory, the country represents a water tower for the Amu Darya and consequently for the Aral Sea. Per inhabitant, Tajikistan uses much less of the water resources used in other riparian countries and has a significant hydropower potential. To fully develop it, Tajikistan follows a sophisticated strategy that includes the construction of the Rogun dam and that is articulated on several levels: from the citizen level to the national level with a national water sector reform and to the international level with many bilateral, regional, and global initiatives. Tajikistan has become one of the leading countries on water cooperation at the global level and places the United Nations at the center of global water governance. The soft power of Tajikistan on the water agenda can be broken down in several attributes: the international context with a fragmented global water governance; the leadership provided at the highest levels of the state and the stability of power structures; the expertise and capacity built in the country; the support of many countries, international organizations, and international financial institutions; as well as the traditional hospitality of the Tajik people. This all contributes to the so-called Dushanbe Spirit. With its water initiatives and by hosting conferences in Dushanbe, Tajikistan provides a public good to the international community. The latest initiative to date led to the declaration by the UN General Assembly of the International Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable Development” (2018–2028).

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Notes

  1. 1.

    See the data of the World Bank and of the IMF for 2013.

  2. 2.

    World Bank, Development Prospects Group, Migration and Remittances Unit (2013), “Migration and Development Brief,” n. 20.

  3. 3.

    Data for land and water resources of Tajikistan for 2010.

  4. 4.

    See the data of the CIA World Factbook, consulted on 17 September 2016.

  5. 5.

    Compare the data of the International Hydropower Association and those of the International Energy Agency for 2016.

  6. 6.

    Data of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan.

  7. 7.

    See also the final declarations of the last two editions of the Regional Economic Cooperation Conference for Afghanistan (RECCA), held in Dushanbe in 2012 and Kabul in 2015.

  8. 8.

    Data of the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources of Tajikistan for 2016.

  9. 9.

    Calculations of the author based on data for 2010 of the Basin Water Organization “Amu Darya,” published on CA Water Info.

  10. 10.

    See the final report of the UN Secretary General’s Advisory Council on Water and Sanitation (UNSGAB).

  11. 11.

    See the remarks of the UN Secretary General at the Opening Ceremony of the High Level International Conference on the Implementation of the International Decade for Action “Water for Life” held on 9 June 2015 in Dushanbe.

  12. 12.

    Press release of 12 August 2015.

  13. 13.

    Document A/71/260 of 28 July 2016.

  14. 14.

    Document A/RES/71/222 of 21 December 2016.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. HABITER Research Laboratory, University of Reims, Reims, France

    Jon Marco Church

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  1. Jon Marco Church
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Correspondence to Jon Marco Church .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Moscow, Russia

    Sergey S. Zhiltsov

  2. Engineering Res. Prod. Center for Water, Management, Land Reclamation and Ecology, Moscow, Russia

    Igor S. Zonn

  3. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

    Andrey G. Kostianoy

  4. S.Yu. Witte Moscow University, Moscow, Russia

    Aleksandr V. Semenov

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Church, J.M. (2017). Soft Power of Tajikistan on the Water Agenda: Cross-Scale Dynamics. In: Zhiltsov, S., Zonn, I., Kostianoy, A., Semenov, A. (eds) Water Resources in Central Asia: International Context. The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry, vol 85. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/698_2017_130

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