BLOG
Perils of ‘Water Wars’ in Central Asia
December 31st, 2022
Via Jamestown Foundation’s Eurasia Daily Monitor, commentary on Central Asian water tension: On November 3, Uzbekistani Foreign Minister Vladimir Norov and his Kyrgyzstani counterpart Jeenbek Kulubaev signed a bilateral deal in Bishkek, under which Kyrgyzstan agreed to cede to Tashkent the territory surrounding the Kempir-Abad Reservoir, covering 4,485 hectares, in exchange for over 19,000 hectares […]
Read more »Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan Foreign Ministers Sign Water, Border Agreements
November 3rd, 2022
Via The Diplomat, an article on how – despite domestic opposition in Kyrgyzstan – Bishkek and Tashkent are moving ahead with their agreements on the Kempir-Abad reservoir: On November 3, Uzbek Foreign Minister Vladimir Norov visited neighboring Kyrgyzstan, where he met with Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Jeenbek Kulubaev. The two foreign ministers signed a raft of agreements, […]
Read more »U.S. Water Security Initiative: Central Asia is a Contender for Partnership
July 6th, 2022
Via Caspian Policy Center, an article on Central Asia’s potential as a partner in the U.S.’s new water security initiative: On June 1, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris emphasized water security as an essential foreign policy priority. Harris mentioned that improving water security would enhance public health results and bolster local economic output, which in turn […]
Read more »How Much Progress Has Been Made On Kyrgyz-Uzbek Water Cooperation?
June 30th, 2022
Via the Third Pole, a look at signs that improving relations between Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan could lead to better management of water: Since the collapse of the USSR in 1991, tensions over water have repeatedly sparked conflict in Central Asia. But experts have told The Third Pole they are hopeful that improved relations between Uzbekistan and […]
Read more »Drought and Crumbling Infrastructure: Threats to Kyrgyzstan’s Agricultural Sector
November 19th, 2021
Via The Diplomat, a report on how the agricultural sector’s struggles with water scarcity presage wider troubles in Kyrgyzstan if infrastructure and policies cannot be fixed: According to a World Food Program forecast, the summer of 2021 was predicted to be much drier, hotter, and with little rainfall for the entire Central Asian region than previous […]
Read more »Central Asia’s Collapsing Water Tower
October 10th, 2021
Via Cryopolitics, an article on Central Asia’s glaciers: Today’s ‘Fieldwork Friday’ photos come from Kyrgyzstan, where I ventured in 2018 during a trip along the ancient Silk Roads crisscrossing Central Asia. Over the course of a three-day trek, with my Kyrgyz guide (who spent his winters working in a reindeer meat processing plant in Yakutia, […]
Read more »