Water, undoubtedly, is one the most precious assets in Central Asia. Thus, the issue of management of water resources is on the top of the agenda for cooperation in region ever since the countries gained their independence from the Soviet Union. As early as 1992 the region’s countries, recognizing the importance of the issue, signed an agreement on joint management of the water resources of the region. It was agreed that the allocation principles and volumes set by the Soviet planners would be adhered to by all states. However, there have also been a number of incidents that seriously undermined this agreement and led to subsequent case-by-case bilateral agreements. These incidents have also complicated relations between the countries concerned. As a result, the issue of regional security threat stemming from the water resources management problems has acquired a central position both in the regional politics as well as academic and policy discussions. Many authors stress the scarcity of water resources, growing population and increasing demand for water as immediate sources of conflict in the region. Fortunately, despite some predictions about possible conflicts and however complicated the relations between the region’s countries have been so far, they have managed to avoid any inter-state conflict.
Topics: IWRM, Transboundary Water Management, Water Management,
Keywords:
Aral Sea basin, IWRM, Transboundary water issues, Water Management,