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Central Asian Water Politics…with Energy & Security Implications
November 2nd, 2010
Courtesy of STRATFOR (subscription required), a detailed look at the water politics of Central Asia, namely Tajikistan’s request for Russian support of a hydroelectric power plant that Uzbekistan opposes. As the article notes: “…sources in Central Asia reported Nov. 1 that Russia is in talks with Tajik authorities about having an open contract for Russia’s […]
Read more »Russia: “We must not buy Perrier…we must sell our water abroad.”
October 28th, 2010
Via Window on Eurasia, an interesting report that Russia is considering selling some of its water abroad. As the article notes: “…Moscow is making plans to exploit its position as a “fresh water superpower†and sell some of its holdings of this increasingly precious commodity to water-short neighbors and other countries further afield, according to […]
Read more »Lake Balkhash: Becoming A Second Aral Sea?
October 27th, 2010
Courtesy of Window on Eurasia, an interesting report on the possibility that – as a Russian commentator recently stated – Lake Balkhash, the 12th largest lake in the world, is on the way to becoming “a second Aral Sea,†but one with potentially even more serious political consequences because both the causes of the lake’s […]
Read more »Turning Siberian Rivers South: Central Asian Water Security
September 8th, 2010
Via Terra Daily, a report that Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev recently resurrected a Soviet plan by suggesting that Russia should divert Siberian rivers so that they flow into Central Asia. According to the article: “…Why not recall a project to divert the flow of Siberian rivers into the southern regions of Russia and Kazakhstan as […]
Read more »A Russian Water Grab?
November 24th, 2009
Via Robert Amsterdam, an interesting – if not worrying – article on the Mayor of Moscow, Yuri Luzhkov, and his keen interest in reversing the flow of northern rivers in Russia. As the article note: “…Water – the oil and gas of the not-too-distant future «…The world community is hoping that Russia will soon become […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: China Enters Eurasia’s Water Wars
November 21st, 2009
Courtesy of Window on Eurasia, an interesting report on the impact – both ecological and geopolitical – of China’s recent activities to take large volumes of water out of the Irtysh that normally would go to Kazakhstan and Russia. As the article notes: “…By unilaterally taking out of the Irtysh far more water than ever […]
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