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Groundwater, Geopolitics, and the Guaranà Aquifer
December 8th, 2009
Via Water Wired, a note that the current issue of Stygoscape focuses on the Guaranà aquifer – one of the largest reservoirs of groundwater in the world which is shared by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Current water storage is estimated to range between 37,000 to 55,000 km3 by various workers, a natural recharge of […]
Read more »Melting Ice On The Roof Of The World
December 8th, 2009
Via AFP, continued bad news from the roof of the world, namely the glaciers in the Himalayas that sweep through Pakistan, India, China, Nepal and Bhutan, and which provide headwaters for Asia’s nine largest rivers, lifelines for the 1.3 billion people who live downstream. As the article notes: “…Scientists predict that most glaciers will be […]
Read more »Water A Pawn In Central Asian Energy Dispute
December 5th, 2009
Courtesy of EurasiaNet, an interesting report on Uzbekistan’s decision to leave the Central Asia energy grid – which cuts off Tajikistan from importing and exporting electricity – has some Tajik officials suggesting that water supplies to Uzbekistan be restricted during the summer irrigation season. As background, the energy and irrigation infrastructure in Central Asia was […]
Read more »Bolivia’s Real Recession Worries
December 5th, 2009
Courtesy of BBC, an article exploring the impact of receding glaciers in Bolivia and the fears surrounding the future of water supplies in one of Latin America’s fastest-growing urban areas – Bolivia’s sprawling city of La Paz and its neighbour El Alto – and the possibility that it may become the world’s first capital to […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: Harnessing “China’s No. 1 Water Towerâ€
November 28th, 2009
Courtesy of Tibetan Plateau, an updated look at dams being built in eastern Tibet and via Greengrants.org, a interesting (albeit dated) analysis of the policy implications of dam projects on Drichu – the Upper Yangtze River, an area which China persists in viewing as China’s natural water storage tower. As the articles notes: “…the following […]
Read more »Melting Ice = Rising Tensions In Central Asia
November 27th, 2009
Via Registan, an interesting contemplation on the political, social, and economic impacts that glacial retreat in Kyrgyzstan will have upon the neighboring countries of Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan in the next 20 years. As the article notes: “…Geologists have recently brought to attention the significant melting of Kyrgyz glaciers Adigene and Petrova. This story is […]
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