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Kazakhstan’s Lake Balkhash Is Disappearing
July 15th, 2021
Via Circle of Blue, an article on Kazakhstan’s shrinking Lake Balkhash: Viewed from space, the Balkhash drainage basin resembles a shape of life: many thin blue veins, flowing towards their heart. The likeness is fitting, as survival in southeastern Kazakhstan, an area exposed to dusty winds and extreme heat, depends on Lake Balkhash and the seven […]
Read more »Central Asian Drought Highlights Water Vulnerability
July 12th, 2021
Via Third Pole, a report on how – as parts of the region experience the worst drought in 13 years – experts say Central Asian governments must urgently look at options to mitigate extreme weather events: A severe drought in Central Asia is causing mass livestock die-offs and shortages of water for irrigation. In two […]
Read more »Tajikistan Shares Irrigation Water With Kazakhstan
June 7th, 2021
Via EurasiaNet, a report on Tajikistan’s agreement to divert 315 million cubic meters to help Kazakhstan avoid a summer of drought: Geopolitical analysts routinely point to Central Asia as a likely potential flashpoint for conflicts over water resources, but one fresh development is serving to show how more virtuous scenarios are also possible. This week, the […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: Chinese Threat to Lake Balkhash Fueling Anti-Chinese Feelings in Kazakhstan
April 5th, 2021
Via The Jamestown Foundation’s Eurasia Daily Monitor, a look at how China’s blockage of the Ili River is threatening Lake Balkhash: Kazakhstan’s Lake Balkhash, the 15th largest freshwater lake in the world, may follow the Aral Sea into extinction, Russian researcher Petr Bologov warned six years ago. Not only is the lake threatened by excessive water […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: Does China’s Water Use Threaten Kazakhstan’s Big Lake?
March 19th, 2021
Via the Belt & Road News, a report on China’s impact on the Balkhash basin: Climate change, farming and a lack of Cooperation risk another Aral Sea Disaster. The demise of the Aral Sea is a tragic tale often told. Less known is the peril facing Central Asia’s largest remaining lake, Balkhash in eastern Kazakhstan, […]
Read more »What Does China’s BRI Mean for Central Asia’s Water Future?
February 15th, 2021
Via Eurasianet, a report that the Belt and Road Initiative could exacerbate Central Asia’s water tensions, and Beijing seems to have thought little about the risks: For Central Asia, China’s Belt and Road Initiative is the biggest infrastructure drive in generations. And like the Soviet mega dams, mines, and devastating cotton monoculture that preceded it, the BRI […]
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