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28 Water Wars ANNA CIE ŚLEWSKA AND ELWIRA WYSOCKA Water is the source of a great deal of tension between the states of Central Asia. Th e causes of the dispute over the use and distribution of this scarce resource are complicated and the result of old Soviet policies. Th e climate of Central Asia, especially its southern part, is so dry that agricultural cultivation can only take place with an effi cient irrigation system. Th e fi rst watering systems in this region date back nearly 5,000 years. In the Bronze Age, Central Asian watering systems achieved a high level of technical sophistication, becoming, at that time, one of the best in the world. Th e key to this arid region’s irrigation has been two rivers: the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya. Th e longest river in Central Asia is the Syr Darya (around 3,019 kilometres). It arises from a connection of two rivers, the Kara Darya and the Naryn. Th e source of the latter is also where the Syr Darya begins to fl ow, from the glaciers of the Tian Shan Mountains, near the Kyrgyz-Chinese border. Th e river fl ows through the central part of Kyrgyzstan making its way through Uzbekistan and northern Tajikistan (covering a portion of the Fergana Valley) to further reach Kazakhstan and the eastern part of the Kyzyl Kum desert, where it fi nally reaches the shores of the Aral Sea. Th e waters of the Syr Darya are mostly used to hydrate cotton fi elds. Th e second largest river of Central Asia is the Amu Darya. Its length is around 2,540 kilometres and it originates from the intersection of two rivers: the Panj and the Vakhsh. Th e Panj River creates the natural border between Afghanistan and Tajikistan, and the combined waters of the Amu Darya form the border between Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Th e Amu Darya further reaches Turkmenistan and goes through Uzbek Khwarezm and Karakalpakstan (a semi-autonomous region in Uzbekistan), fi nally reaching the delta through which it empties into the Aral Sea. Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, covered with high mountains from which these large rivers rise, collect water resources and are called the countries of the upper stream. Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, on the other hand, are called the countries of the lower stream.

Anna Cieślewska and Elwira Wysocka, Water Wars Opinion and Analysis 29 Asia’s “white gold” Before the Soviet Union existed in Central Asia the system of irrigation control was centralised and highly hierarchical. Th e responsibility over parts of the irrigation system was given to local authorities. In each village or commune one person would be delegated to be in charge of water. Th e residents had to pay a water tax and contribute to communal irrigation work. During the period of Russian colonisation, the system continued to function in an almost unchanged form even although it was controlled by tsarist offi cials. Th is was also the time when industrial-scale cotton production was introduced, which, in turn, led to the reconstruction and expansion of the irrigation system. Th e American Civil War between 1861 to 1865, which obstructed cotton exports from the United States, contributed to the development of the cotton market in Central Asia, controlled by the Russian Empire. Soon after, Central Asian cotton became a commodity and made its way to many European industrial centres. It wasn’t until Soviet t imes that the management of water resources in this region was signifi cantly altered. Since the 19th century, cotton production has become one of the most important branches of agricultural production in Central Asia. Th e “cotton republics”, which included Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, would supply between 90 to 95 per cent of all cotton in the Soviet Union. It was at this point that the management of water resources was altered to focus on the eff ective irrigation of the cotton fi elds. For this purpose, a complicated infrastructure was built with the purpose of collecting and releasing large water resources. Soviet engineers focused primarily on the two main rivers, the Syr Darya and the Amu Darya, which fl owed through the desert and steppe of the countries of the lower stream. Along the banks of both rivers, the Soviets built new irrigation channels which pulled water from the Syr Darya and the Amu Darya (and their branches), and which had been feeding into the Aral Sea for centuries. Th e Soviet irrigation system used a vast amount of water, although some of it was wasted due to fl aws in the construction and poor maintenance of the irrigation system. Th e water would either get absorbed by the soil or evaporated before reaching the fi elds. As a result, less and less water would eventually make it to the Aral Sea, and since the 1960s the sea has begun to shrink. In 1960 its size was around 68,000 square kilometres, while in 2004 it was as small as 17,160 square kilometres. Between 55 to 56 square ki lometres of water used to be emptied into the Aral Sea annually. In 2001 the Amu Darya delivered as little as three square kilometres of water. Th e shrinking of the Aral Sea has brought catastrophic economic and environmental results and is also regarded as one of the largest environmental disasters in the world. Although the majority of the production of cotton, or “white gold”, happens in the countries of the lower stream (especially Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan),

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Water Wars ANNA CIE ŚLEWSKA AND ELWIRA WYSOCKA

Water is the source of a great deal of tension between the states of Central Asia. Th e causes of the dispute over the use and distribution of this scarce resource are complicated and the result of old Soviet policies.

Th e climate of Central Asia, especially its southern part, is so dry that agricultural cultivation can only take place with an effi cient irrigation system. Th e fi rst watering systems in this region date back nearly 5,000 years. In the Bronze Age, Central Asian watering systems achieved a high level of technical sophistication, becoming, at that time, one of the best in the world. Th e key to this arid region’s irrigation has been two rivers: the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya. Th e longest river in Central Asia is the Syr Darya (around 3,019 kilometres). It arises from a connection of two rivers, the Kara Darya and the Naryn. Th e source of the latter is also where the Syr Darya begins to fl ow, from the glaciers of the Tian Shan Mountains, near the Kyrgyz-Chinese border. Th e river fl ows through the central part of Kyrgyzstan making its way through Uzbekistan and northern Tajikistan (covering a portion of the Fergana Valley) to further reach Kazakhstan and the eastern part of the Kyzyl Kum desert, where it fi nally reaches the shores of the Aral Sea. Th e waters of the Syr Darya are mostly used to hydrate cotton fi elds. Th e second largest river of Central Asia is the Amu Darya. Its length is around 2,540 kilometres and it originates from the intersection of two rivers: the Panj and the Vakhsh. Th e Panj River creates the natural border between Afghanistan and Tajikistan, and the combined waters of the Amu Darya form the border between Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Th e Amu Darya further reaches Turkmenistan and goes through Uzbek Khwarezm and Karakalpakstan (a semi-autonomous region in Uzbekistan), fi nally reaching the delta through which it empties into the Aral Sea.

Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, covered with high mountains from which these large rivers rise, collect water resources and are called the countries of the upper stream. Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, on the other hand, are called the countries of the lower stream.

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