Garagum Canal and Amu Darya: conveyance losses, salinisation and the money around them
- In 2001, 1,353,744 ha of my irrigated soil was salinised, and irrigation caused waterlogging on about 756,500 ha in 2002, according to FAO. FAO
- In my Turkmen Aral Sea zone around 90–95% of irrigated land is saline, according to Berdiyev (2006), cited by FAO. FAO
- My Amu Darya's salinity rose from 0.3 g/l before 1962 to 0.8 g/l in 1967 and 1.5–1.6 g/l in the 1990s, at times up to 2 g/l, according to FAO. FAO
- In January 2023 at least 100 million m³ of canal water ran into my sand, with spill channels reaching more than 35 km, according to a Meteojurnal estimate from satellite images. AKIpress
- International bodies FAO (2007), cited by Kyoto University DPRI paper (2024): Approximately 18% up to 30% of the total flow, resulting in extensive waterlogging and salinisation. Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto University
- International bodies FAO (2012): More than 30% since 2000 and around 31% in 2004, up from 20% in the 1970s and 1980s. FAO
The Garagum (Karakum) Canal takes 10–12 km³ a year from the Amu Darya, and FAO recorded conveyance losses of more than 30% of intake since 2000. FAO gave the direct economic loss from salinised land at USD 142 million for 2001; a South Korean builder signed a memorandum on modernising a 250 km section in September 2026.
Since 2000; about 31% in 2004 and about 20% in the 1970s and 1980s.
Status As of September 2026: Daewoo E&C signed a memorandum on a 250 km lower-canal section; no monetary value or funding source is on record.
- Turkmen irrigated agriculture — Water for irrigation along the canal, described locally as the 'river of life' (FAO) FAO
- Daewoo E&C — Memorandum of 15 September 2026 on possible participation in modernising a 250 km lower-canal section; no value stated Korea Herald
- Turkmenistan — USD 142 million direct economic loss from salinised land in 2001 (FAO) FAO
What happened
The Garagum (Karakum) Canal has its intake on the Amu Darya just after the river enters Turkmenistan from Uzbekistan and runs about 1,400 km west through the Murghab and Tedzhen basins to the Kopetdag foothills and on towards the Caspian, according to FAO; the Korea Herald gave about 1,100 km. Construction started in 1954 and the main 840 km section was completed in 1967. FAO (2012) wrote: 'Each year the canal takes 10–12 km3 from the Amu Darya river.'
FAO (2012) wrote: 'Since 1970, water withdrawal from the Amu Darya and other rivers has nearly doubled. At the same time the loss rate has increased alarmingly, from 20 percent of the intake in the 1970s and the 1980s, to more than 30 percent since 2000. In 2004, the loss rate was around 31 percent. The main reasons for conveyance loss in the system are evaporation and filtration (Stanchin and Lerman, 2006).' It added that on-farm systems are almost all earthen canals and 'almost half of the diverted water is lost as a result of seepage', and that inter-farm canals are about 94% earthen. A paper from Kyoto University's Disaster Prevention Research Institute (Khujanazarov, Touge and Tanaka, 2024) cited FAO (2007) for losses of 'approximately from 18% up to 30% of the total flow, resulting in extensive waterlogging and salinization'.
FAO (2012) recorded 1,353,744 ha of salinised land in 2001, waterlogging from irrigation on about 756,500 ha in 2002, and a direct economic loss of USD 142 million from land with different degrees of salinisation in 2001. In the Turkmen Aral Sea zone 'around 90–95 percent of irrigated land. is saline (Berdiyev, 2006)'. FAO attributed 'catastrophic soil salinity' to unlined canals, a drainage network that is too short, irrational irrigation norms and poor construction, and said the diversion into the canal 'has contributed to the Aral Sea disaster, adversely affecting large parts of the population in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan'. Amu Darya salinity rose from 0.3 g/l before 1962 to 0.8 g/l in 1967 and 1.5–1.6 g/l in the 1990s, at times up to 2 g/l; about 4 km³ of drainage water at 6.5–8.5 g/l is discharged into the river annually from Uzbekistan. Of an average 5.4 km³ a year of Turkmen drainage water in 1990–1994, 44% returned to rivers, 55% went to natural depressions, mainly Sarykamysh, and 1% was reused. Under the interstate framework summarised by FAO, the Amu Darya flow at Kerki is split 50/50 and parties should stop disposing of drainage water into the river.
Journalists of the outlet Meteojurnal used satellite images to estimate that at least 100 million m³ of water was lost into the sand after ice jams on 17–20 January 2023 (AKIpress). Spill channels reached more than 35 km into the desert and a dam was finished by 11 February. AKIpress reported that the authorities did not report the incident; on 23 January the president ordered the governors of Mary and Lebap to ensure normal river flow.
On 15 September 2026 Daewoo E&C signed a memorandum of understanding with Turkmenistan's State Committee for Water Management on possible participation in modernising a 250 km lower-canal section; no monetary value was stated. Daewoo E&C said the memorandum 'lays the foundation for Daewoo E&C's entry into Turkmenistan's water resources and environmental infrastructure market'. The national plan cited by FAO aims to raise 'the efficiency factor of the irrigation systems from 0.58 to 0.75 by canal lining and modernizing', with no budget given.
- 1954Construction of the canal starts
- 1967Main 840 km section completed
- 1980Loss rate about 20% of intake in the 1970s and 1980s (FAO)
- 2001Salinised land 1,353,744 ha; direct economic loss of USD 142 million (FAO)
- 2004Loss rate around 31% (FAO); RFE/RL quotes UNICEF on drainage-water discharge (28 Apr)
- 2023Canal breach after ice jams (17–20 Jan); at least 100 million m³ lost into the sand (Meteojurnal estimate via AKIpress)
- 2026Daewoo E&C memorandum on a 250 km lower-canal section (15 Sep)
What was said
“Each year the canal takes 10–12 km3 from the Amu Darya river.”
“Yet benefits for some people have brought adversity to others”
“The root cause of [the salinization of the Amudarya] is the discharge of drainage water”
“lays the foundation for Daewoo E&C's entry into Turkmenistan's water resources and environmental infrastructure market”
Where accounts differ
Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.
Approximately 18% up to 30% of the total flow, resulting in extensive waterlogging and salinisation.
Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto UniversityMore than 30% since 2000 and around 31% in 2004, up from 20% in the 1970s and 1980s.
FAOHow it looked
Shown
- The canal as a 'river of life' locally, with benefits for some people that brought adversity to othersFAO, AQUASTAT profile (2012) · FAO
- A national plan to raise the efficiency factor of irrigation systems from 0.58 to 0.75 by canal lining and modernisingNational plan, as cited by FAO (2012) · FAO
- A memorandum for possible participation in modernising a 250 km lower-canal sectionDaewoo E&C and Turkmenistan's State Committee for Water Management, 15 September 2026 · Korea Herald
Recorded
- Loss rate rose from 20% of intake in the 1970s and 1980s to more than 30% since 2000 and around 31% in 2004 (FAO 2012, citing Stanchin and Lerman 2006)
- Losses of approximately 18% up to 30% of total flow (Kyoto University DPRI paper, citing FAO 2007)
- 1,353,744 ha salinised in 2001; waterlogging on about 756,500 ha in 2002 (FAO)
- Direct economic loss of USD 142 million in 2001 from land with different degrees of salinisation (FAO)
- At least 100 million m³ lost into the sand in January 2023 (Meteojurnal estimate from satellite images, via AKIpress)
- No monetary value stated for the Daewoo E&C memorandum
Who gained
Reached nature or the ground
Gained elsewhere
Responses on record
- daewoo-ec (15 September 2026): The memorandum lays the foundation for Daewoo E&C's entry into Turkmenistan's water resources and environmental infrastructure market. · Korea Herald
- turkmenistan-gov (January 2023): The authorities did not report the January 2023 breach; on 23 January the president ordered the governors of Mary and Lebap to ensure normal river flow. · AKIpress
In court and with insurers
Lawsuits and rulings
Insurers
What nature saw
Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.
What we don't know
Nature
Court
- None on record No court case on record.
Accounts
- Disputed Length of the canal
- None on record Turkmen authorities: Did not report the incident.
Record
- Not disclosed Not disclosed: a monetary value for the Daewoo E&C modernisation memorandum.
- Not disclosed Not disclosed: a budget for the national plan to raise irrigation efficiency from 0.58 to 0.75.
- Not disclosed Not disclosed: the funding source for the canal modernisation.
- None on record None on record: a public report by Turkmen authorities on the January 2023 breach.
- None on record None on record: a World Bank, ADB or Islamic Development Bank loan for the canal.
- None on record None on record: dispute proceedings under the Amu Darya water-sharing agreements.
- Disputed Disputed: the loss rate. FAO (2007), cited by a Kyoto University paper, gives approximately 18% up to 30% of total flow; FAO (2012) gives more than 30% since 2000 and around 31% in 2004.
- Disputed Disputed: the length of the canal. FAO gives about 1,400 km and the Korea Herald about 1,100 km; the difference may reflect different section definitions.
- Insufficient Insufficient: loss-rate data after 2004.
- None on record None on record: insurance.
Did the harm stop?
None on record: FAO (2012) recorded the loss rate rising from 20% to more than 30% of intake; no source states that losses have fallen since.
Who paid?
FAO gave the direct economic loss from salinised land at USD 142 million in 2001. Not disclosed: who funds the canal modernisation; no value is stated for the Daewoo E&C memorandum.
Sources
Press and investigations
- Korean builder signs MOU for potential role in modernizing key waterway stretching 250 kilometersKorea Herald · 2026-09-16
Researchers
- Impact of the Qosh-Tepa canal in Afghanistan to the Downstream of the Amu Darya River Basin (Khujanazarov, Touge, Tanaka)Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto University · 2024
International bodies
Connected cases
- Afghanistan's Qosh Tepa canal to divert 6 to 13 km³ of Amu Darya water a year Afghanistan · date not stated Related matter
- In Uzbekistan's Aral basin, water is tied to cotton contracts Uzbekistan · date not stated Related matter
- Altyn Asyr (Golden Age) Turkmen Lake: a drainage-water reservoir in the Karakum Turkmenistan · 2000–2019
- Government of Turkmenistan (Government) — here: Operator of the canal; State Committee for Water Management signed the memorandum; there: Built and opened the lake; has published no precise cost
- Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) (International organisation) — here: AQUASTAT profile with loss, salinity and cost figures; there: AQUASTAT country profile with design figures and experts' warnings
- Mongolia's dzud winters and degraded pasture: emergency funding for herders Mongolia · 2010–2024
- Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) (International organisation) — here: AQUASTAT profile with loss, salinity and cost figures; there: CERF recipient agency
- UNICEF (International organisation) — here: Arslan Berdiyev quoted on drainage-water discharge (2004); there: CERF recipient agency
- Darvaza gas crater: orders to extinguish the fire, wells drilled, methane measured Turkmenistan · 1971–2026
- Government of Turkmenistan (Government) — here: Operator of the canal; State Committee for Water Management signed the memorandum; there: President ordered the fire extinguished; consulate item on halved emissions
- FAO data show Philippine old-growth forest was 3.3% of land by 1998 Philippines · 1989–1998
- Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) (International organisation) — here: AQUASTAT profile with loss, salinity and cost figures; there: source of the forest and trade figures
- Indian plastic roads and plastic building-material ventures India · 2020
- UNICEF (International organisation) — here: Arslan Berdiyev quoted on drainage-water discharge (2004); there: Partner in the Côte d'Ivoire factory
- Kenya's two official figures: 8.83% forest cover and 12.13% tree cover Kenya · 2001–2026
- Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) (International organisation) — here: AQUASTAT profile with loss, salinity and cost figures; there: global forest definition and assessment
- Methane super-emitters in Turkmenistan's oil and gas fields Turkmenistan · 2017–2026
- Government of Turkmenistan (Government) — here: Operator of the canal; State Committee for Water Management signed the memorandum; there: Joined the Global Methane Pledge; published the draft Roadmap
- Mongolia index livestock insurance Mongolia · 2024
- Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) (International organisation) — here: AQUASTAT profile with loss, salinity and cost figures; there: Source of the GIEWS dzud update
- Ulaanbaatar winter air pollution: stove programmes, the 2019 raw-coal ban and subsidised briquettes Mongolia · 2008–2024
- UNICEF (International organisation) — here: Arslan Berdiyev quoted on drainage-water discharge (2004); there: Context on child health
- Vietnam's forest recovery and logging displaced abroad Vietnam · 1987–2006
- Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) (International organisation) — here: AQUASTAT profile with loss, salinity and cost figures; there: Author of the 2001 review of logging bans