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Water Squabbles Irrigate Tensions in Central Asia
June 17th, 2008
Via Reuters, more on water-related tensions in Central Asia: “…Gulbakhor’s despair, shared by millions of Tajiks in this tiny ex-Soviet nation north of Afghanistan, reflects a growing sense of alarm throughout Central Asia where stability depends on the region’s scarcest and most precious commodity: water. From tiny irrigation canals to the powerful Soviet-era hydroelectric plants, […]
Read more »China and Russia Agree on The Use & Protection of Trans-Border Waterways
February 3rd, 2008
As reported by Xinhua News, China and Russia recently signed an agreement on the use and protection of the approximately 3,500 kilometers of trans-border water bodies shared by the two nations, including the Ergun, Heilongjiang and Wusuli rivers, and Xingkai Lake. As the report notes: “…The agreement indicates the two countries have entered a new […]
Read more »The Aral’s Agony: Hydrocarbons (yes); Water Restoration (a drop in the bucket)
January 1st, 2008
A recent report at Energy Daily on the race to exploit Central Asia’s last significant body of water – the Aral Sea – from a hydrocarbon perspective reminded us that the Aral basin is perhaps the planet’s most damaged freshwater resource, a brutal legacy of decades of Soviet centralized planning. Thus, while the Aral’s waters […]
Read more »Geopolitics and Petropolitics Over the Caspian Sea
January 1st, 2008
Via John C. K. Daly at UPI, a very detailed analysis of the Caspian region. While the report is written from the perspective of the search for hydrocarbons, it offers a careful look at some of the very real geopolitical complexities – and long-term environmental & hydrological implications – that may arise over the Caspian […]
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