Tajik experts warn that the use of coal poses serious environmental problems. However, the authorities say that thanks to coal, they can heat the capital city and create additional jobs.
According to the Ministry of Industry and New Technologies of the Republic of Tajikistan, coal production in the country in the first eight months of this year amounted to 1.25 million tons, which is 33 thousand tons more than in the same period of the last year.
For comparison, let’s say that for the entire 2014, only 870 thousand tons of coal were mined, and in 2001 – about 20.5 thousand tons.
Substantially, this fuel is mined at the enterprises of the coal mines "Fon-Yagnob" and "Ziddi".
The authorities say the increase in coal production in the country will heat houses and create additional jobs. However, experts predict that in the event of an increase in coal production, Tajikistan may face serious environmental problems.
Muazzama Burkhanova, head of the environmental organization «Dastgiri», is concerned that emissions from coal and cement plants in Dushanbe are seriously damaging the health of residents.
“Exhaust and waste from the cement plant and CHPP-2 in the city of Dushanbe, which use coal, cause serious damage to the health of residents. First of all, we need to reduce emissions, since we have 18 cement plants and they all use coal. However, the authorities believe that Tajikistan has a very low percentage of emissions in comparison with other countries,” the expert says.
Timur Idrisov, an independent environmental analyst, notes that mining and usage of coal has a "multilateral, negative impact on the environment".
“The larger the scale and volume of coal production, the more serious the environmental problem will be. Currently, more than 90 percent of all coal is mined through strip mining. This means that the area itself, groundwater, and fauna will not remain intact, and the atmosphere will be polluted,” said Timur Idrisov.
More than 200 enterprises in the country are currently using coal, according to the Ministry of Industry and New Technologies. There are more than 36 fields in Tajikistan, which contain almost all types of coal.
CHPP-2 Dushanbe is the main consumer of coal in the country. According to official statistics, in the autumn-winter period of 2020-2021, it is planned to bring more than one hundred thousand tons of coal to this facility. By the end of August, in accordance with the approved schedule, CHPP-2 had shipped more than 740 thousand tons of coal.
Representatives of CHPP-2 Dushanbe say that 99.9 percent of emissions are collected in special bags and only 0.1 percent goes to the atmosphere. Abdullo Khabirov, an employee of CHPP-2 Dushanbe, told CABAR.asia that Tajikistan can stop mining and using coal only as a result of the construction of hydroelectric power plants. According to him, the government plans to set in operation several power plants:
“Currently, projects are being prepared for the construction of two hydroelectric power plants in Zarafshan with a capacity of 400 megawatts. At the same time, in collaboration with Uzbekistan, it is planned to place in service another power plant in Surkhob, which can provide people with electricity,” says Abdullo Khabirov.
What is the dependence of the Tajik economy on coal?
Experts say Tajikistan is the country where coal is currently the number one fuel and the country's economy to some extent depends on it.
Tajik economist Abdurakib Kadyrov says that in the current environment, there are serious problems with the supply of oil and natural gas. Therefore, it is almost impossible to abandon coal in the country in the coming decades. According to him, in this case, the only hope for the state and the people is coal, which can be used to heat houses in winter.
“There is not a single mention of the rejection of coal in any official document. Although it can be replaced with natural gas or oil products, however, Tajikistan does not have internal reserves of natural gas and oil products, so we import them from abroad. For this reason, the use of other alternative materials is also not possible. And in rural areas the usage of coal is cheaper than electricity,” the economist said.
At the same time, the expert says that now there is no real alternative to coal in Russia, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan.
“The geographic conditions and the wealth of the mineral resources of Tajikistan have created such a situation that today the use of coal is a matter of life and death,” Kadyrov added.
What do residents think about it?
In Tajikistan, residents of the country's regions widely use this type of fuel in the cold season, although they are aware of its danger. Several people in the country die from carbon monoxide gas every year.
Gulbahor, a resident of the Tajikobod region (about 200 km northeast of Dushanbe) uses coal every year.
Gulbahor says that despite the fact that coal is a relatively expensive fuel and the smoke from it negatively affects human health, her family has no other choice.
"Firewood and pressed dung (dried livestock manure - editorial comment) burn quickly, and coal can burn from evening to morning, keeping the house warm," she says.
Tojiddin, a resident of the village of Kabirabad in the Vahdat region (21 km east of Dushanbe), plans to buy coal as winter approaches. He says that due to financial problems he used firewood and dung for several years. But this year, regardless of financial situation, he plans to take in coal for the winter.
“Dung and firewood are easy to use and easier to find than coal. But they do not give such warmth as coal, by the morning it is already cold in the house. So I will buy coal, although it is more expensive,” he said.
Tojiddin knows that coal can be deadly, but says caution should be exercised when utilizing it.
According to Muazzama Burkhanova, Tajikistan has the ability to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, which is generated by burning coal. She believes that cement plants should purchase special cleaning equipment from Chinese companies, which is quite expensive.
“At the same time, CHPP-2 Dushanbe and cement plants could switch to using gas instead of coal, which will reduce emissions of pollutants,” says Burkhanova.
Also, the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere can be achieved thanks to energy-saving technologies and the gradual transition of enterprises to the use of electricity generated by hydropower plants in Tajikistan.
This material was prepared within the framework of the IWPR project “Amplify, Verify, Engage: Information for Democratisation and Good Governance in Eurasia”, funded by the Norwegian Foreign Ministry, and the mentoring program of the “Development of New Media and Digital Journalism in Central Asia” project, implemented by the Institute for War Reporting and Peace (IWPR) with the support of the UK Government. The content of this publication does not reflect the official views of IWPR, the Norwegian Foreign Office, or the UK Government.