Governmental Decree No. 791 validating national Water Sector Reform Program for the period 2016-2025.

Ministry of Energy and Water Resources of the Republic of Tajikistan shall be coordinator of implementation of the multi-sectoral nationwide Water Sector Reform Program of the Republic of Tajikistan for 2016-2025, which goal is to establish a framework for decentralizing the management system and assigning part of the operational functions in the process of sharing responsibilities between ministries and agencies and partially non-governmental organizations. The proposed reform is based on the general regulatory principles of IWRM and emphasizes the importance of social, economic and environmental interests through sustainable water resources management and development. The goal of this reform is "to plan, develop and effectively manage the water sector in accordance with sound policies, analysis and joint management of groundwater and surface water volumes and quality, balanced water use by different sub-sectors through the basin approach and hydrographic systems as management zones in the interests of high economic development of the Republic of Tajikistan, on the basis of equity, equality and undiminished environmental sustainability". Achieving the above objectives will require the following measures: - (a) creation of a national structure functioning in accordance with IWRM, providing policy and normative legal acts, effectively coordinating stakeholders at different levels, from local to international; and (b) creation of transparent management and reporting structures with separation of functions related to policy and strategic orientation on the one hand, and implementation on the other hand, in compliance with modern principles of effective management and implementation.
The main water consumption in Tajikistan are potable water supply and sewerage, hydropower, irrigated agriculture, industry, fishery, recreation and environment. Tajikistan actually uses only 17-20% of water resources formed on its territory. Potable water supply and sanitation is the most important sub-sector of the water sector and its development is considered a top priority of the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan. Hydropower is one of the important sectors of the water sector in Tajikistan, which forms the basis of the country's energy potential. An important feature of hydropower is that it does not use the potential energy of water to consume it irretrievably. This does not affect the natural water quality. The irrigated agriculture sector is important for the country's food security. About 80% of agricultural production is provided by irrigated land. Fisheries are also considered an important sub-sector of water consumption. Fish ponds are built on wide riverbanks or near floodplains, which reduces irrecoverable water losses. The country's territory has great recreational potential. There are 162 natural landscape waterbodies, more than 200 mineral springs, 18 mud and salt lakes in the country. The volume of water used in recreational zones is not estimated, but it is known that the water used in this case is partially returned to the springs after treatment. The use of water to sustain the environment plays a huge role. Despite the fact that at present there are no specific data on the volume of water use for the environment in the country, it is known that sufficient volumes of water are used for its sustainability and development.
In recent years, due to the impact of various factors, including the transition to market relations, increased demand for water resources due to population growth, reduction of water resources under the influence of climate change, increase in the frequency of extreme hydrometeorological phenomena, financial crisis, urbanization, desertification, etc., there is an increase in problems in the water sector. Tajikistan is undergoing a process of transition to a market economy and all political and economic changes have an impact on the water sector and water use in general, including adaptation of water management to new economic conditions. This adaptation includes the following tasks: (a) improvement of the situation related to covering operational and maintenance costs; (b) increasing the efficiency of state structures responsible for water management; and (c) ensuring the normative distribution of water among consumers in accordance with the concluded agreements. Population growth and water demand require urgent measures for optimal regulation and equitable distribution of water resources, water demand management, IWRM, coordination of activities of different water users, efficient water use, introduction of water-saving technologies and other measures. Climate variability and change require urgent measures to ensure sustainability and adaptation to these changes, including improved forecasting, increased attention to reducing damage from floods, landslides, mudflows, and improved management of upstream watersheds. Main categories of natural disasters caused by water are floods, riverbanks and coastal land erosion, rising water levels in rivers, landslides and mudflows, and salinization, irrigated land erosion, waterlogging and desertification are man-made disasters. Water-related disaster risk reduction includes the implementation of effective mechanisms for prevention and preparedness for emergencies, including the definition of functions in the field of flood protection and bank protection, the establishment of a reliable system of forecasting and training at the national, basin and local levels, and the development of technical and organizational capacity in combination with reliable financial mechanisms. The main problems of water supply to industrial enterprises are the need to ensure: (a) effective disinfection of industrial wastewater; (b) reduction of water losses; (c) introduction of a system of recycling (reuse) of water; and (d) effective monitoring of the quality and quantity of wastewater in accordance with norms and standards.
There are a number of problems inherent in all sectors of water use, in particular: (a) limited opportunities for financing from both the national budget and development partners; (b) aging and obsolete existing infrastructure; (c) lack of a modern legal and regulatory framework; (d) high level of water losses; and (e) mismatch of tariffs for services at cost and low level of fee collection.
Improvement of economic and financial aspects in the water sector will require adoption and implementation of the following arrangements: (a) introduction of the principles of "user pays" and "polluter pays"; (b) continuous system repair, periodic and complete renovation, improvement and reconstruction of the water sector infrastructure; and (c) ensuring effective regulation of economic relations between service providers and water users, as well as transparency of service provision through an appropriate pricing system that can cover the costs of the sector to ensure its development.