Access to water tense Central Asia

Central Asia "is nothing more than an endless desert" assured the well-known Polish journalist Ryszard Kapuściński. This famous reporter spoke of one of the least populated and driest regions on the planet

Different rivers, lakes, and enclosed seas dot the arid lands of Central Asia. Most of these water resources are shared by two or more states, including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

Water management in the times of the Soviet Union was simpler because all the countries in the area – once known as the “estates” by the endings of their names – were part of it. After the dissolution of the USSR, access to water is a source of tension between these countries, whether for irrigation, to restore lakes such as the Aral or to generate electricity.

Water tense Central Asia

Fran Olmos, an independent researcher specializing in Central Asia, explains that "this type of low-scale conflict is normal and has been going on for decades." Even so, he adds that "what is not normal is the scale that we saw, since the forces of both countries were involved and then it spread to 50 kilometers from where the original confrontation took place."

This incident occurred near Voruj, a Tajik enclave within Kyrgyzstan. This small territory is a fertile area in an inhospitable region and where there is a water gate that reaches Tajik and Kyrgyz territory for irrigation, one of the triggers for this skirmish.

At the beginning of April of this year, the Tajik president, Emomali Rahmon, visited the enclave, reaffirming that it is the property of his country and denying the possible transfer of this territory to Kyrgyzstan. Kamchybek Tashiyev, the right-hand man of the Kyrgyz president, had previously assured that Tajikistan would agree to cede the enclave in exchange for 12,000 hectares of territory. The researcher explains that “ water is an important component (in the conflict) but sometimes it is a bit of an excuse, there is something deeper in the psyche, in the psychology of the inhabitants of the border, a mistrust of foreigners even though they live twenty paces."

A bad example: the Aral Sea

Another victim of the lack of understanding between countries is the Aral Sea, which is currently more desert than the sea. Soviet irrigation plans turned this enclosed sea, once one of the largest lakes in the world, into a vast desert. This lake began to lose its surface when tributary rivers were diverted to irrigate cotton plantations in the 1960s.

After the dissolution of the USSR, the decline of this body of water has only accelerated due to the lack of understanding between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, owners of the sea, and Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, countries through which the rivers that feed it pass.

In order to alleviate the adverse effects, Olmos warns that "cooperation at the regional level is going to be positive, not only to maintain the north of the Aral Sea, but also to avoid desertification and that the toxic contents of the lake bottom create health problems”. He also adds that "the countries that are fed by the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers (the largest tributaries of the Aral Sea) are not going to stop using that water, so the flow is not going to increase."

Currently the task of conservation and recovery has had mixed results. On the Kazakh side, part of the water has been maintained; the north of the Aral Sea has even raised its level since the beginning of the 21st century.

On the Uzbek side, on the other hand, the situation is so untenable that it has already been accepted that it will not recover.  The Uzbek government is reforesting the area   with typical steppe and desert trees to prevent further desertification and pollution. The old bed of the Aral Sea contains a mixture of salt along with pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers from the Soviet era.

Hydroelectric dams

Some of the countries in this area are poor in energy resources, and unlike other states such as Turkmenistan or Kazakhstan, they are highly dependent on hydroelectric dams on their territory. One of the paradigms of this dependence on water to generate energy in Kyrgyzstan.

This small mountainous country generates about 90% of the energy it consumes with dams such as Toktogul. The latter generates 40% of the country's electricity but also limits access to water for two other countries through which the Naryn, a tributary of the Syr Daria, flows.

Projects like this were in the past the source of tension between countries, with the president of Uzbekistan even threatening a war when he warned that “this (water scarcity) could deteriorate to the point where there would not only be confrontations, but even wars like result". Experts noted that these veiled threats were primarily directed at Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, which were building or planning dams at the time.

Support us to keep independent environmental journalism alive in India.

Keep Reading

MP farmers battle stray animals, sleepless nights to protect crops

Indore’s Pipliyahana Lake struggles to survive, even after conservation measures

Costliest water from Narmada is putting financial burden on Indore

Changing weather pattern impacts soybean crops in Dewas region of MP

Follow Ground Report on X, Instagram and Facebook for environmental and underreported stories from the margins. Give us feedback on our email id [email protected]. 

Don't forget to Subscribe to our weekly newsletter, Join our community on WhatsApp, Follow our Youtube Channel for video stories.