Thirteen Environmental Stories From Central Asia

Environmental conditions do not exist in a vacuum. They are influenced by science, politics, history, public policy, culture, economics, public attitudes, and competing priorities, as well as past human decisions. In the case of Central Asia, such Soviet-era decisions include irrigation systems and physical infrastructure that are now crumbling, mine tailings that leach pollutants into soil and groundwater, and abandoned factories that are physically decrepit and contaminated with toxic chemicals. Environmental Crises in Central Asia highlights major environmental challenges confronting the region’s former Soviet republics: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. They include threats to the Caspian and Aral seas, the impact of climate change on glaciers, desertification, deforestation, destruction of habitat and biodiversity, radioactive and hazardous wastes, water quality and supply, energy exploration and development, pesticides and food security, and environmental health. The ramifications of these challenges cross national borders and may affect economic, political, and cultural relationships on a vast geographic scale. At the same time, the region’s five governments have demonstrated little resolve to address these complex challenges. This book is a valuable multi-disciplinary resource for academics, scholars, and policymakers in environmental sciences, geography, political science, natural resources, mass communications, public health, and economics.

A study of the relationship between environmental cooperation and state building in post-Soviet Central Asia.

Le monde turco-iranien, qui s'étend des Dardanelles à l'Indus et se prolonge jusqu'aux frontières occidentales de la Chine, est un vaste ensemble de l'aire musulmane, mais il demeure mal connu en Occident. Il regroupe aujourd'hui plus de 200 millions d'habitants, répartis dans une douzaine d'Etats. Monde ancien, fragmenté, hétérogène et contrasté tout en ayant de forts éléments d'unité, cette région est à la fois un centre de diffusion culturelle, et un lieu de passage, de contact, et d'échanges économiques depuis la plus haute Antiquité. Située au cœur de l'Eurasie, traversée par les routes les plus anciennes, son rayonnement culturel a souvent dépassé les frontières des pays qui la composent aujourd'hui. Confronté à la "modernité" depuis environ deux siècles, le monde turco-iranien a abordé cette nouvelle étape de son histoire en empruntant des voies différentes: certains pays se sont inspirés de l'exemple occidental, d'autres ont été marqués par la colonisation russe, l'expérience soviétique voir chinoise. Paradoxalement, alors qu'une partie des pays de la région ont effectué les expériences de laïcité les plus poussées (Turquie et républiques ex-soviétiques en particulier), d'autres ont exploré la voie de l'islam politique le plus radical (Iran et Afghanistan). Dans cette perspective, ces contrées ont été en quelque sorte le laboratoire du monde musulman dans son ensemble. Cet ouvrage est issu d'un colloque organisé en novembre 2005 à l'Institut universitaire d'études du développement (IUED) de Genève en l'honneur de Mohammad-Reza Djalili. Les articles rassemblés dans ce volume offrent une réflexion critique sur la pertinence heuristique du concept de "monde turco-iranien", sur ses confins et sur ses spécificités. Ils adoptent tour à tour une perspective historique, politologique et anthropologique et abordent des thématiques telles que l'évolution historique de ces régions, la formation des Etats, les tensions de sociétés en transition à l'heure de la globalisation et des replis identitaires.

The perception of Central Asia and its place in the world has come to be shaped by its large oil and gas reserves. Literature on energy in the region has thus largely focused on related geopolitical issues and national policies. However, little is known about citizens’ needs within this broader context of commodities that connect the energy networks of China, Russia and the West. This multidisciplinary special issue brings together anthropologists, economists, geographers and political scientists to examine the role of all forms of energy (here: oil, gas, hydropower and solar power) and their products (especially electricity) in people’s daily lives throughout Central Asia and the Caucasus. The papers in this issue ask how energy is understood as an everyday resource, as a necessity and a source of opportunity, a challenge or even as an indicator of exclusionary practices. We enquire into the role and views of energy sector workers, rural consumers and urban communities, and their experiences of energy companies’ and national policies. We further examine the legacy of Soviet and more recent domestic energy policies, the environmental impact of energy use as well as the political impact of citizens’ energy grievances. This book was published as a special issue of Central Asian Survey.

This book offers the first multidisciplinary overview of water resources issues and management in the Aral Sea Basin, covering both the Amu Darya and Syr Darya River Basins. The two main rivers of Amu Darya and Syr Darya and their tributaries comprise the Aral Sea Basin area and are the lifeline for about 70 million inhabitants in Central Asia. Written by regional and international experts, this book critically examines the current state, trends and future of water resources management and development in this major part of the Central Asia region. It brings together insights on the history of water management in the region, surface and groundwater assessment, issues of transboundary water management and environmental degradation and restoration, and an overview of the importance of water for the key economic sectors and overall socio-economic development of Central Asian countries, as well as of hydro politics in the region. The book also focusses on the future of water sector development in the Basin, including a review of local and international actors, as well as an analysis of the current status and progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals by Basin countries. The book will be essential reading for those interested in sea basin management, environmental policy in Central Asia and water resource management more widely. It will also act as a reference source for decision-makers in state agencies, as well as a background source of information for NGOs.

Central Asia, known as the home of Tamerlane and the Silk Road, is a crossroads of great cultures and civilizations. In 1991 five nations at the heart of the region—Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan— suddenly became independent. Today they sit strategically between Russia, China, and Iran and hold some of the world’s largest deposits of oil and natural gas. Long-suppressed ethnic identities are finding new expression in language, religion, and occasional civil conflicts. Civil Society in Central Asia is a pathbreaking collection of essays by scholars and activists that illuminates the social and institutional forces shaping this important region’s future. An appendix provides a guide to projects being carried out by local and international groups.