Alarm Bells for Water Conflict in Central Asia

Global warming threatens the world.

Some countries have taken precautions early, putting water policy action plans in place. A country’s strength is closely tied to imagining 100 years into the future and making visionary plans.

We have written before about Turkey being a water-poor nation. The Middle East will be an arena for water wars in the near future; everyone generally agrees this is true.

What’s interesting is that Central Asia is also a region with high potential for water conflicts. Russian and Asian media have long written about this risk.

Reports say that the division of water resources among Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan in particular could be a source of tension.

For instance, would it surprise you to hear that organizations like the U.S. State Department, The Rockefeller Foundation and the U.S. Agency for International Development are conducting studies on water resources in the region, particularly with certain groups in Afghanistan, as well as the Tajiks and the Kyrgyz?

What could The Rockefeller Foundation want with Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Afghanistan? Keep in mind that, socioeconomically, these are the poorest countries in the region. Where have we ever seen the U.S. or its allies assist a poor country or lend a helping hand without getting something in return?

Well, they’re interested because there are large water reserves in these countries!

The Syr Darya River rises in the Tian Shan Mountains in Kyrgyzstan, passes through Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, and then twists back into Uzbekistan, after which it flows to Kazakhstan, running for 2,865 kilometers (about 1,780 miles).

Another river, the Amu Darya, originates in Afghanistan where the Pamir and Hindu Kush mountain ranges converge, gaining water from tributaries as it heads northwest. The Amu Darya shares its basin with the same countries as the Syr Darya, and stretches for 2,774 kilometers (about 1,723 miles).

Historians refer to the area between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers as “Transoxiana.” Today, this region falls within the territories of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. The objective of the U.S. and The Rockefeller Foundation gradually becomes apparent.

Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan are the Turkic states that the most reliant on outside sources of water. Kazakhstan, on the other hand, is relatively well off in terms of its water sources, but has not managed them effectively.

For example, there’s the huge Irtysh River, which starts in China — or rather, East Turkestan. The Irtysh runs for 4,248 kilometers (about 2,640 miles). After Kazakhstan, it flows to Russia, eventually emptying into the Kara Sea. Then there’s the Ishim River, a branch of the Irtysh that flows through the country’s capital, Astana, and is fed by snowmelt from the Petropavl region. There are water sources of all shapes and sizes in Kazakhstan, but unfortunately no water policy to match.

In short, countries in the region are getting agitated over the use of water resources. The goal is to plunge the region into chaos, and then bring peace to the area, after which they would carve out a place for themselves. These divisive water policies may bring tragedy to the region and alienate the region’s Turkic states.

However, shouldn’t the Organization of Turkic States move beyond its routine daily meetings and produce real policy for each region? Let me say how stunned and disappointed I am by the inability to see this.

The Rockefeller Foundation is all wrapped up in Central Asia’s water problems. What a pity!

One has to ask, while people are unable to find drinking water in Africa, why isn’t The Rockefeller Foundation going there to dig drinking wells? Why are they unconcerned about Africa’s water problems and deprivation?

In short, water sleeps, but the enemy never rests.

The intent is not charity!

The outcome is ambiguous!

We’ll wait and see what happens.