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Central Asia Water Woes
July 20th, 2008
Via New Eurasia, an interesting report (translated via Google Translator) that Uzbekistan and Tajikistan are having serious diagreements over water with Kazakhstan. As the article notes: “…according to agreements, Kazakhstan buys Kyrgyz electricity, and Kyrgyzstan … increases the amount of water in 150 cubic meters per second for Kazakhstan. Uzbekistan, for its part, undertakes to […]
Read more »Water Scarcity and Trans-Boundary Tensions In The Deserts of Central Asia
July 18th, 2008
Via The Guardian, an interesting look at the issue of water scarcity in the deserts of central Asia. As the article notes: “…Water is a precious resource in the desert lands of Central Asia, where only the Aral Sea and a few rivers must provide enough water for the region’s 60 million people. But while […]
Read more »Could Water Needs Unite Central Asian States Vs. Driving Them Apart?
June 29th, 2008
As reported by Window on Eurasia, most analysts see competition for water driving the five countries of Central Asia apart, possibly even leading to military conflicts among them. But a Kyrgyz ecologist argues that in fact both these countries and the international community should make access to water the basis for closer cooperation among them. […]
Read more »The Aral Sea and Other Water Issues in Central Asia
June 27th, 2008
As reported by the Foreign Policy Association, World Bank President and former US diplomat Robert B. Zoellick recently met with President Nazarbayev and the Kazak government to discuss several joint World Bank/Kazak projects. As the article notes: “…another key project that needs to garner not just attention, but action: the disappearing Aral Sea. The Aral […]
Read more »Central Asia: Water Tensions Soon To Boil Over?
June 20th, 2008
From Radio Free Europe, a detailed look at how age-old water problems are bringing tensions to a boil in Central Asia. As the article notes: “…The cities, towns, and villages of western Uzbekistan, and western Central Asia in general, are facing the same hot summer short of water — a cruel fate considering many of these areas […]
Read more »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, […]
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