Surroundings in Tajikistan

No single national institution manages all aspects of the surroundings in Tajikistan. The Committee for Environmental Protection under the Government of Tajikistan handles environmental policy, monitoring, environmental impact assessment, air, water and waste control. The Ministry of Energy and Water Resources leads national water and energy policy, while the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the Population covers sanitary and health protection. Local executive bodies and self-government institutions manage many municipal services, green spaces, waste arrangements and spatial planning. The Committee of Emergency Situations and Civil Defense coordinates warnings, evacuation, shelters and rescue work. In Dushanbe, Dushanbevodokanal provides water and wastewater services, and the State Antimonopoly Service regulates water and sanitation tariffs. Formal electricity access reaches the entire population, but service reliability remains uneven: a 2023 survey found electricity interruptions in 24% of households. Older urban estimates indicate that about 70% of the population experienced winter shortages, sometimes lasting six to seven hours per day. District heating reaches only about 9% of the population. In Dushanbe, household heating has been estimated at roughly 50% district heating, 26% coal, 17% gas and 8% electricity. Coal and biomass stoves can increase indoor fine-particle pollution, so heating choices affect both household comfort and health. Water access also varies by location and by the quality of the service. UNICEF data report 89% access to at least basic drinking water, 65% access to safely managed drinking water and 6% reliance on surface water. Older national and urban figures show centralized water access at about 57% nationally and 91% in urban areas, with sewer connections at about 15% nationally and 53.7% in urban areas. People may receive water through a household connection, a street standpipe, a well, a spring or a river. In Dushanbe, non-revenue water was estimated at about 50% in 2020, and some networks provided water for only six to eight hours per day. The 2019 Law on Drinking Water Supply and Wastewater, the 2020 Water Code and the National Water Strategy through 2040 guide the sector; rehabilitation projects and the 2025–2027 action plan are intended to improve services, including a Dushanbe project targeting about 352,000 people. Dushanbe has a particular winter air-pollution problem linked to coal heating, road traffic and industry or energy production. A World Bank climate and country assessment associated air pollution with about 84 deaths per 100,000 people, one of the highest reported burdens in Central Asia. The environmental authority is responsible for air monitoring, but reliable real-time information is not available for every settlement. Household fuel choices, ventilation, filtration and health information therefore remain relevant where outdoor or indoor air is poor. Tajikistan has legal limits for noise, vibration and other physical impacts under its Environmental Protection Law and sanitary standard SN 2.2.4/2.1.8.562-96. Transport and commercial noise above the applicable limits is prohibited in residential and public areas, but current public noise maps and nationwide complaint routes are not well documented. Green-space policy is supported by the State Program on Greening of Tajikistan through 2040. Tajikistan has about 6.8 square metres of green space per person in one urban-resilience assessment, while Dushanbe has about 12 square metres per person; the city's master plan sets a target of at least 10 square metres per person and a green belt of about 20,000 hectares. Access and maintenance differ between municipalities, and local bodies generally carry the related care and irrigation costs. Waste collection and disposal depend strongly on the settlement. The Committee for Environmental Protection, local executive bodies and State Unitary Enterprises for housing and communal services share responsibilities. Collection and landfill services exist, while source separation, recycling and composting are still being developed. Special risks include uranium tailings in northern Tajikistan, obsolete pesticides, medical waste, construction waste and illegal or spontaneous dumps. The Dushanbe landfill also faces climate, seismic and fire risks. National strategies aim to improve regional landfills, separate collection, recycling and data, but there is no proven nationwide guarantee of regular collection or one uniform fee. Tajikistan faces earthquakes, floods, mudflows, landslides, avalanches, drought and strong winds across a country that is about 93% mountainous. Water-related events account for more than 60% of officially reported disasters in one UNDP assessment. A multi-hazard platform covers seven hazards and 58 districts at the jamoat level, and the Committee of Emergency Situations and Civil Defense provides warnings and coordinates emergency response. The 2022–2028 national disaster-risk project supports hazard mapping, early-warning systems, resilient infrastructure, shelters and community training. Risk is especially high in mountain, river and unstable-slope areas; Dushanbe also faces seismic risk, flash floods, mudflows, slopes and dust storms. Accessibility of water, sanitation and public infrastructure is uneven. UNICEF data from 2025 indicate that only about 1% of health facilities had sanitation that was both basic and accessible to people with disabilities. In Khatlon, safe-water access was estimated at 53.4% in rural areas and 70.6% in urban areas. Inclusive water and sanitation design and gender- and disability-sensitive planning are policy goals, but a complete national register of accessible surroundings has not been established. People can obtain environmental information and participate through the Aarhus Convention framework, which Tajikistan joined in 2001. Aarhus Centres in Dushanbe, Khujand, Bokhtar, Khorog and Garm provide information, advice and dialogue between authorities, project developers and civil society. Environmental impact assessment and ecological-expertise rules allow comments and public involvement for category A and B projects, with notices and documents made available through the relevant channels. The law also recognizes public ecological expertise, although the 2024 environmental review reported that it had not yet been initiated. Participation depends on the project and announcement; there is no automatic procedure for every plan, and no general participation fee has been established. The National Development Strategy through 2030, the National Water Strategy through 2040, the greening program through 2040 and urban-resilience projects shape ongoing change. Climate change is increasing pressure from drought, floods, landslides, heat and air pollution, while urban growth increases demand for water, wastewater, waste, energy and green space. The World Bank's TURN program, active since 2025, supports planning and resilient infrastructure in Kulob, Bokhtar, Khujand and Dushanbe, and a UNDP urban-resilience program covers Dushanbe from 2024 to 2027. These programs are location- and project-dependent and do not create an automatic right to upgraded municipal services. Nature protection, biodiversity and protected areas belong primarily to the nature topic; rental, ownership and construction questions belong primarily to housing; and mobility questions belong primarily to transport, while their effects on air, noise, accessibility and the residential environment remain part of the surroundings.