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Reevaluating The Forgotten River Civilizations of Central Asia
October 5th, 2023
Via PNAS, an interesting paper examining the Aral Sea basin in Central Asia in which its major rivers, the Amu Darya and Syr Darya, were the center of advanced river civilizations, and a principal hub of the Silk Roads over a period of more than 2,000 y. The region’s decline has been traditionally attributed to […]
Read more »Kyrgyz-Kazakh Relations Strained Amid Water Cutoff
August 27th, 2023
Via Radio Free Europe, a report at how water is straining Kyrgyz-Kazakh relations: The video recorded on a Kazakh farmer’s smartphone reached the Internet like a distress signal. “Zhambyl Province. Sugar beet. There is no water. The beet has died,” the voice said over footage of failed crops in this traditionally fertile corner of southern […]
Read more »Water: A Barrier to Central Asia’s Rise?
August 23rd, 2023
Via Geopolitical Futures, a look at how Central Asia’s growing role could be hampered by a long-standing problem – water scarcity: Amid growing Western pressure and changes throughout Eurasia, regions that were once considered on the Eurasian periphery are now gaining significance. Chief among them is Central Asia, a region that was historically considered part […]
Read more »Iran Warns of Caspian Sea’s Shrinking Coastline
August 15th, 2023
Via Tasnim News, a report on climate change’s impact on the Caspian Sea: Iran’s mission to the UN office in Geneva warned that the Caspian Sea’s water levels have been dropping according to satellite images provided by the Iranian Space Agency. In a post on X, the Permanent Mission of Iran to the United Nations […]
Read more »Northern Remnant of Aral Sea Struggling to Survive
June 11th, 2023
Via Window on Eurasia, a report on challenges faced by the northern segment of the Aral Sea: Two decades ago, the World Bank provided funding to allow Kazakhstan to construct a dam isolating the northern segment of the Aral Sea in the hopes of saving it from the sad fate of the rest of that […]
Read more »The Winds of Change: The Social and Political Cost of Climate Inaction in Central Asia
February 15th, 2023
Via The Diplomat, an article on how climate change may be an “accelerant” for global cooperation, but it also poses significant social, political, and geopolitical challenges in Central Asia: Climate change is a global issue that affects many regions of the world, including Central Asia. The region is experiencing unprecedented climate crisis, causing significant changes […]
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