President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev announced the plans to increase water use efficiency by 25% over the next 5 years. He made this statement at the Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which took place in Samarkand on September 25, the press office of the President of Uzbekistan reported.
In his speech, the President expressed great concern about global climate change. According to current forecasts, the average surface temperature on our planet may rise to no more than 1,5 °C by 2040, he noted. However, given current trends, this critical mark may be reached as early as 2030.
Mirziyoyev touched upon the lack of access to safe drinking water, which a quarter of the world’s population faces. Accelerating climate change is exacerbating the threat to food security, pushing about 800 million people into extreme poverty.
The President said Uzbekistan has developed a comprehensive strategy aimed at addressing these challenges and continues to implement significant projects that will save up to 15 billion cubic metres of water. This should contribute to achieving the goal of increasing water use efficiency, he said. However, active support is needed from the countries of the region and international financial institutions to tackle these issues.
