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Central Asian Water: The Thirsty Dragon, The Aral Sea, and Ongoing Dilemmas
January 23rd, 2009
As we have discussed in this blog previously, Central Asian countries are divided into water suppliers (the mountainous countries of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan) and water consumers (Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan). But the Central Asian water crisis is not just about the fate of the Aral Sea. It is about the management of the entire basin, including […]
Read more »Could Siberian River Water Be Diverted to Save a Drying/Dying Aral Sea?
December 6th, 2008
Via Window on Eurasia, an interesting look at how the rapid drying up of the Aral Sea in Central Asia – it is likely to completely disappear within months – has sparked new interest in the possibility that Moscow could divert Siberian river water to the region to save not only the sea but also […]
Read more »Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Hydropower, and Central Asia’s Water
September 3rd, 2008
As we have discussed previously and as recently noted by WaterWired, there are a number of difficult issues faced by the countries in the Syr Darya and Amu Darya basins, the two major streams in the region. As the article notes: “…the aforementioned streams both terminate in the Aral Sea, and the diversion of these […]
Read more »Water – Energy Links in Central Asia
August 1st, 2008
A second excellent piece from the Brookings Insitution details Central Asia’s opportunities and challenges to make better and more efficient use of it water resources, both by investing in large water storage and hydropower capacity and by more efficient utilization of water, especially in irrigation use. As the article notes: “…A visit to the site […]
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 »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 […]
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