Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Water use · Turkmenistan · 2000–2019

Altyn Asyr (Golden Age) Turkmen Lake: a drainage-water reservoir in the Karakum

Nature's voice · report
The drainage water channelled toward my Karashor depression averaged 2.31–4.22 g/l of salt in the Dashoguz collectors and 6.15–15.0 g/l in the Mary region collectors, according to Çakır (2016), who called the Mary water 'unusable for the purposes of irrigation'.
Did nature suffer? Yes. Harm is on record. Disputed
Recorded
  • Foreign experts quoted by FAO claim that my lake water will disappear through evaporation, leaving salt sediments that will poison the entire area. FAO
  • At Sarykamysh, my drainage-fed lake of about 8 km³, FAO records permanent accumulation of pollutant salt, which leads to the degradation of flora and fauna. FAO
  • The water in my rivers and drainage networks contains high concentrations of salts and pesticides, according to FAO. FAO
What the record lacks: 2 none on record · 3 not disclosed · 1 insufficient · 1 not measured · 5 disputed · 1 unclear See the gaps
Accounts of the harm differ
How much water the lake receives and holds
  • International bodies FAO (2012): Since 2009 the collectors have been diverting up to 10 km³ of saline drainage water to the lake annually. FAO
  • Government and regulators Turkmen embassy item (year not given): The depression currently holds about 580 million m³. Embassy of Turkmenistan in Afghanistan
Whether the lake benefits or harms the environment
  • Government and regulators Local water experts, as recorded by FAO: The lake will reclaim 450,000 ha of waterlogged land and dramatically reduce salinization in the Amu Darya. FAO
  • International bodies Foreign experts, as recorded by FAO: The lake water will disappear through evaporation, leaving salt sediments that will poison the entire area. FAO
  • Communities and civil society Critics in Turkmenistan and Karakalpakstan (names withheld), to IWPR: The damage will exceed the benefit. IWPR

Turkmenistan built a system of collectors to channel saline drainage water into a reservoir in the Karashor depression in the Karakum desert. Reported costs range from USD 4 billion to USD 6.5 billion, and the government has not published a precise figure.

USD 4bn–6.5bnReported construction cost range
IWPR, 2009: USD 4 billion cited in 2002, later USD 6.5 billion. AP and Circle of Blue, 2009: up to or about USD 4.5 billion.

Status As of the latest dated official event, 8 May 2019: a state-organised conference and excursion were held at the lake; the government has published no precise cost.

What?
Turkmenistan built a system of collectors to channel saline drainage water into the Karashor depression in the Karakum, creating the Altyn Asyr (Golden Age) lake. The state presented it as an environmental improvement; reported costs range from USD 4 billion to USD 6.5 billion. IWPR
Where?
The Karashor (Garashor) depression in the central and northern Karakum, on the border of Ahal and Dashoguz provinces, 350 km north of Ashgabat. FAO
When?
Construction began in 2000; the first stage opened on 15 July 2009; the latest dated official event on record was a conference and excursion on 8 May 2019. FAO
Who?
Gained
  • Turkmen state — Opened the first stage on 15 July 2009 and presented the lake as bringing new life to the desert NBC News
Lost
  • Turkmen state budget — A cost reported at USD 4 billion to USD 6.5 billion; the government has published no precise figure IWPR
Harmed
  • Karashor depression — Receives saline drainage water, up to 10 km³ a year since 2009 according to FAO; foreign experts quoted by FAO expect salt sediments after evaporation FAO
Why?
The project aims to stop drainage discharge into the Amu Darya, and local water experts argued it would reclaim 450,000 ha of waterlogged land and reduce salinization in the Amu Darya (FAO 2012). FAO
How?
The Great Turkmen Collector from the south and the Dashoguz Collector from the north, with a combined length of over 1,000 km, carry drainage water to the depression. FAO
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

A presidential decision of 2000 under Saparmurat Niyazov started construction of a lake in the Karashor (Garashor) depression, in the central and northern Karakum on the border of Ahal and Dashoguz provinces, 350 km north of Ashgabat, according to FAO. The first stage was opened by Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov on 15 July 2009. According to FAO's AQUASTAT profile (2012 version), the lake is to be filled through the Great Turkmen Collector from the south and the Dashoguz Collector from the north, 'with a combined length of over 1 000 km'; its capacity is 'foreseen to be 150 km3, with a surface area of 3 500 km2 and a depth of 130 m'; and 'Starting in 2009, the collectors have been diverting up to 10 km3 of saline drainage water to the lake annually'. The project aims to stop drainage discharge into the Amu Darya.

AP reported on 16 July 2009 a planned area of 770 square miles, a depth of around 230 feet, a volume of more than 4,600 billion cubic feet, 1,650 miles of tributary canals, a cost of 'up to $4.5 billion' and about 15 years to fill. Çakır (2016), drawing on work as an Islamic Development Bank expert, gave a design capacity of 132 km³ with an annual average flow of 11 km³, a Dashoguz branch carrying 210 m³/s over 383.8 km and a 720 km main drainage canal across the Karakum. A Turkmen embassy news item (dated 30 May, year not given) said the Academy of Sciences' Institute of Chemistry had completed hydrochemical studies and produced salinity maps, that the system had 2,859 km of drainage collectors and 1,553 km of canals, and that water was diverted 'to ecologically safe place – the Garashor Hollow', without giving salinity values.

Çakır (2016) reported drainage water salinity measured in laboratories of the Turkmen ministry and the Turkmensuvylymtaslama Institute, from data of the 1990s–2000s: an average of 2.31–4.22 g/l in the Dashoguz collectors, 6.15–15.0 g/l in the Mary region collectors ('unusable for the purposes of irrigation') and 2.0–20.0 g/l in the Ahal collectors, with total national drainage water of 5.6–6.0 km³ a year. FAO (2012), citing Stanchin and Lerman (2006), recorded that foreign experts 'claim that the lake water will simply disappear through evaporation under the fierce desert sun, leaving salt sediments that will poison the entire area', and that at the existing drainage-fed Sarykamysh lake of about 8 km³ there is 'permanent accumulation of pollutant salt. which leads to the degradation of flora and fauna'. Evaporation from water surfaces is 1000–2300 mm a year against rainfall of 76–380 mm (Çakır 2016), a national figure.

Local water experts, as recorded by FAO, argued that the lake would 'reclaim 450 000 ha of waterlogged land, dramatically reduce salinization in the Amu Darya' and allow recycling after partial desalination. In 2009 critics in Turkmenistan, whose names IWPR withheld for security reasons, said the damage would exceed the benefit; one Ashgabat analyst said, 'The benefits of constructing the Turkmen lake are like ankle-high water, whereas the damage will be knee-high.' A Karakalpakstan environmentalist asked IWPR how a desert lake could be 'more important than the lives of millions of people'. Berdimuhamedov said at the opening: 'We have brought new life to these once-lifeless sands.'

On cost, IWPR reported on 31 July 2009 that USD 4 billion was cited in 2002 and later rose to USD 6.5 billion, and that the government had been 'reticent' about precise spending. AP gave 'up to $4.5 billion' and Circle of Blue 'about $4.5 billion of investment', both in July 2009. A Turkmen embassy item (dated 7 January, year not given) said the depression 'currently holds about 580 million cubic meters' and that the president ordered the lake's water volume and quality to be studied. The Islamic Development Bank provided 'technical and financial support' for Çakır's expert stay, with no amount given. The last state-organised conference and excursion at the lake on record took place on 8 May 2019.

  1. 2000Presidential decision and start of construction under Saparmurat Niyazov
  2. 2002Cost of USD 4 billion cited (IWPR)
  3. 2009First stage opened by Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov (15 Jul); collectors begin diverting saline drainage water, up to 10 km³ a year (FAO)
  4. 2012FAO AQUASTAT profile records the design and the experts' warnings
  5. 2016Çakır publishes drainage-water salinity data from the 1990s–2000s
  6. 2019State-organised conference and excursion at the lake (8 May)

What was said

Claims, in the words of those who made them.

“We have brought new life to these once-lifeless sands. I am convinced that our great deeds will be recalled with glory”

President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, at the opening · 15 July 2009 · NBC News

“The benefits of constructing the Turkmen lake are like ankle-high water, whereas the damage will be knee-high.”

An Ashgabat analyst (name withheld for security), to IWPR · July 2009 · IWPR

“Imagine a children's sandpit, and a huge tanker truck begins pouring water into it.”

A Dashoguz water engineer (name withheld for security), to IWPR · July 2009 · IWPR

“is related with the deficiency of water in the world”

Where accounts differ

Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.

Design and size of the lake
International bodies
FAO (2012)

Capacity foreseen at 150 km³, surface area 3,500 km², depth 130 m.

FAO
Researchers
Çakır (2016)

Design capacity of 132 km³ with an annual average flow of 11 km³.

Scientific Papers Series E, Land Reclamation, Earth Observation & Surveying, Environmental Engineering, Vol. V
Press and investigations
AP (2009)

Planned area of 770 square miles, depth around 230 feet and volume of more than 4,600 billion cubic feet.

NBC News
Press and investigations
Circle of Blue (2009)

A surface of about 2,000 km².

Circle of Blue (Nadya Ivanova)
How much water the lake receives and holds
International bodies
FAO (2012)

Since 2009 the collectors have been diverting up to 10 km³ of saline drainage water to the lake annually.

FAO
Government and regulators
Turkmen embassy item (year not given)

The depression currently holds about 580 million m³.

Embassy of Turkmenistan in Afghanistan
Whether the lake benefits or harms the environment
Government and regulators
Local water experts, as recorded by FAO

The lake will reclaim 450,000 ha of waterlogged land and dramatically reduce salinization in the Amu Darya.

FAO
International bodies
Foreign experts, as recorded by FAO

The lake water will disappear through evaporation, leaving salt sediments that will poison the entire area.

FAO
Communities and civil society
Critics in Turkmenistan and Karakalpakstan (names withheld), to IWPR

The damage will exceed the benefit.

IWPR

How it looked

What was shown, beside what was recorded.

Shown

  • A lake that brings 'new life' to 'once-lifeless sands'
    President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, 15 July 2009 · NBC News
  • A lake that will reclaim 450,000 ha of waterlogged land, dramatically reduce salinization in the Amu Darya and allow recycling of water after partial desalination
    Local water experts, as recorded by FAO (2012) · FAO
  • Drainage water diverted 'to ecologically safe place – the Garashor Hollow'
    Turkmen embassy news item on the Institute of Chemistry studies · Embassy of Turkmenistan in Afghanistan

Recorded

Who gained

Money that reached nature, beside money that stayed elsewhere.

Reached nature or the ground

Not published
No figure published.

Gained elsewhere

Not totalled
Construction cost cited in 2002 (IWPR)$4bn
Window: 2002
Construction cost, later figure (IWPR; year not stated)$6.5bn
Planned cost, up to (AP)$4.5bn
Window: 2009
Investment, about (Circle of Blue)≈ $4.5bn
Window: 2009
Currency: USD · Window: Mixed — see each line. Figures cover different periods and are not compared as a ratio. * Estimate built from cited figures.

Responses on record

  • turkmenistan-gov (2009; 2012): President Berdimuhamedov said at the opening in 2009 that the lake brought new life to once-lifeless sands; local water experts argued that it would reclaim 450,000 ha of waterlogged land and reduce salinization in the Amu Darya (as recorded by FAO). · NBC News
  • turkmenistan-gov (year not given): An embassy item reported that the Institute of Chemistry had completed hydrochemical studies and that the president ordered the water volume and quality to be studied. · Embassy of Turkmenistan in Afghanistan

In court and with insurers

Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

Lawsuits and rulings

No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

Insurers

No insurer decision on record.

What nature saw

Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.

Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.

Capacity foreseen
150 km³
3,500 km² surface and 130 m depth (FAO 2012)
Saline drainage water diverted
up to 10 km³ a year
Since 2009 (FAO 2012)
Water held
about 580 million m³
Turkmen embassy item, year not given
Cost
USD 4bn–6.5bn
Reported; the government has published no precise figure

What we don't know

Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
No independent ecological evaluationKey earnings undisclosed

Nature

  • Disputed How much water the lake receives and holds
  • Disputed Whether the lake benefits or harms the environment

Accounts

Record

  • Not disclosed Not disclosed: the government has published no precise spending figure for the lake; IWPR described it as 'reticent' about costs in 2009.
  • Not disclosed Not disclosed: numeric salinity values in the Turkmen embassy item on the Institute of Chemistry's hydrochemical studies.
  • Not disclosed Not disclosed: the amount of the Islamic Development Bank's 'technical and financial support' for the expert stay.
  • Not measured Not measured: a peer-reviewed, lake-specific evaporation or water-balance study; the 1000–2300 mm a year evaporation figure is a regional one.
  • Disputed Disputed: the design of the lake. FAO gives 150 km³, 3,500 km² and 130 m; Çakır gives 132 km³; AP gives 770 square miles and more than 4,600 billion cubic feet; Circle of Blue gives about 2,000 km².
  • Disputed Disputed: how much water the lake receives. FAO says the collectors have been diverting up to 10 km³ a year since 2009; a Turkmen embassy item (year not given) says the depression currently holds about 580 million m³.
  • Unclear Unclear: which river water might supplement the lake. AP mentions the Syr Darya; Circle of Blue says the design 'does not envision' pumping from the Amu Darya.
  • Insufficient Insufficient: monitoring data newer than about 2019; the latest state-organised event on record was on 8 May 2019.
  • None on record None on record: legal proceedings.
  • None on record None on record: insurance.

Did the harm stop?

None on record: no source states that drainage discharge into the Amu Darya has stopped. The project aims to stop it (FAO, 2012).

Who paid?

Not disclosed: the government has published no precise cost. IWPR reported USD 4 billion cited in 2002, later rising to USD 6.5 billion.

Sources

Voices on record: — Company or project✓ Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society✓ Researchers✓ International bodies

Government and regulators

  1. Altyn Asyr Lake – New Opportunities for the Region
    Consulate of Turkmenistan, Mazar-i-Sharif · 2019-05-08
  2. News item on Institute of Chemistry hydrochemical studies
    Embassy of Turkmenistan in Afghanistan · 30 May (year not given)
  3. News item on Altyn Asyr water volume
    Embassy of Turkmenistan in Afghanistan · 7 January (year not given)

Press and investigations

  3. Turkmenistan Vows to Water its Desert, Write New Tale of Glory
    Circle of Blue (Nadya Ivanova) · 2009-07-17

Researchers

  1. Evaluation of tail and drainage waters acceptability for reuse in agriculture in dry regions (Çakır)
    Scientific Papers Series E, Land Reclamation, Earth Observation & Surveying, Environmental Engineering, Vol. V · 2016

International bodies

Connected cases

Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
Terms used on this page

Science and environment

Hectare (ha)
A unit of area equal to 10,000 square metres, about 2.5 acres. 100 hectares make one square kilometre.
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