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Lake Balkhash: A Future Aral Sea?
March 3rd, 2009
Via Registan, an interesting look at Lake Balkhash which – due to the international nature of the watershed, the development of oil in China and heavy industry on the its shores – may unfortunately be on track for a similar fate as The Aral Sea unless China, Kazakhstan and the other Central Asian nations work […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon To Become A Hungry Dragon?
February 26th, 2009
As reported by The New York Times, China’s drought continues to have major impact upon the nation, in particular its wheat belt: “…Northern China is dry in the best of times. But a long rainless stretch has underscored the urgency of water problems in a region that grows three-fifths of China’s crops and houses more […]
Read more »Tajikistan’s Dam(n) Trust?
February 17th, 2009
Via The Foreign Policy Association, an interesting look at Tajikistan’s considerable freshwater reserves and how they impact (may be impacted) by developments in Central Asia. As the article notes “…In contrast to its’ neighboring countries with vast oil and gas resources, Tajikistan has the actual most important resource in the world, large reserves of fresh […]
Read more »South Asia: 25% of The World’s Population Accesses <5% of The World's Freshwater
February 16th, 2009
Via Celsias, details of a startling new UN report indicating that hundreds of millions of South Asians face growing water stress due to over exploitation, climate change and inadequate cooperation among countries. As the article notes: “…South Asia is home to one-fourth of the global population, including some of the world’s poorest people, who have […]
Read more »Two Rivers Diverted…. The Thirsty Dragon Has To Choose Both Paths
February 9th, 2009
Via Terra Daily, a report on China’s recent decision to divert water from its two longest rivers to help farmers hit by the country’s worst drought in decades. As the article notes: “…Water from the Yangtze River, the country’s longest, will be diverted to the northern areas of eastern Jiangsu Province, the Xinhua news agency […]
Read more »Central Asian Water: The Thirsty Dragon, The Aral Sea, and Ongoing Dilemmas
January 23rd, 2009
As we have discussed in this blog previously, Central Asian countries are divided into water suppliers (the mountainous countries of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan) and water consumers (Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan). But the Central Asian water crisis is not just about the fate of the Aral Sea. It is about the management of the entire basin, including […]
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