DUSHANBE, September 2, 2009, Asia-Plus  -- An international technical conference formally titled “Lake Sarez: Current Situation, Safety Problems and Prospects of Rational Use of Its Water Resources” has opened in the city of Norak today morning.

According to the Ministry of Energy and Industries (MEI), the main objective of the two-day conference is in supporting Tajik government’s efforts to minimize the risks of natural disaster and choose long-term solutions to the potential threat on the basis of the results and recommendations of scientific researches.

Experts fields of hydrology, climatology, soils science, seismology, and rock mechanics from Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan in the have been invited to attend the event, which is organized by UNSECO jointly with UNDP, the source said.

The President of the International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD) Jia Jinsheng is also participating in the conference.  Tomorrow, he is expected to deliver report on international requirements for safety of dams and new principles of long-term actions.

Experts have long worried that Lake Sarez, one of the world’s largest natural reservoirs, is a potential source of a natural disaster.  A World Bank-sponsored early-warning system is now monitoring the lake, along with the Usoy Dam.

Some Tajik officials want to harness the existing risks, and turn them to the country’s advantage.  To keep the water pressure against the dam at a stable level, some experts propose the construction of a safety-valve tunnel which could divert water into the Murgab River.  Others propose construction of a hydro-electric plant.  A feasibility study suggests the combination of a safety-valve and power plant could cost almost $300 million, and would cause the lake level to drop roughly 50 meters.  Meanwhile, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon proposed the construction of a water pipeline that would serve all of Central Asia.  Calling his idea a "great humanitarian project," he urged the creation of a consortium of Central Asian governments, which would then work with international development agencies to make the pipeline project a reality.