Water Resources in Central Asia: International Context (The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry 85)

This book outlines the current status of water resources management in Central Asia countries, and provides a review of the history, policies and transboundary cooperation regarding water resources in the region. Particular attention is given to the water-energy-food-environmental nexus, and to the application of the UNECE Environmental Conventions in Central Asia. Readers will also learn about the US and German environmental policies applied in Central Asia, and will discover specific case studies on water resources policies in Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Afghanistan. Together with the companion volumes on __Water Bodies and Climate Change in Central Asia__ and __Water Resources Management in Central Asia__, it offers a valuable source of information for a broad readership, from students and scientists interested in the environmental sciences, to policymakers and practitioners working in the fields of water resources policy and management, international relations, and environmental issues. The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry Also Available Electronically 7 Series Preface 8 Contents 10 Introduction 12 References 19 Water Resources of Central Asia: Historical Overview 20 1 Introduction 21 2 Geographical Location of Central Asia 23 3 Water Resources and Irrigation in Central Asia 25 4 Water Resource Management in Central Asia in the Nineteenth to Twentieth Centuries 27 5 The Soviet Period: The Role of Water Resources 30 6 Conclusion 34 References 34 Legal Framework of Interstate Cooperation on Water Resources of Central Asia 36 1 Introduction 37 2 The Regulation of Water and Related Resources in the Legacy of the Soviet Union 38 2.1 Introduction 38 2.2 The Legal Status of Aral Sea Waters in the Soviet Period and the Nexus Approach to Regulation of Water Management 38 2.3 Principles and Instruments of Regulation on Water Management in the Soviet Period 39 3 The Current Legal Framework of Interstate Water Cooperation in the Aral Sea Basin 40 3.1 Introduction 40 3.2 The Legal Framework of the Regional Level of Interstate Cooperation 40 3.2.1 Obligations Originating from International Water Law 41 Global Multilateral Environmental Agreements 41 Relevant Multilateral Agreements Adopted Within the Commonwealth of Independent States 42 3.2.2 Multilateral Legal Acts Adopted By All the States of the Aral Sea Basin 44 4 The Legal Framework for Basin Level Interstate Cooperation 47 5 The Bilateral Interstate Legal Framework Within the Aral Sea Basin 48 5.1 Bilateral Regulations on Syr Daria 48 5.2 Bilateral Regulations on Amu Daria 49 References 50 Institutional Cooperation on Water Resources Management in Central Asia 51 1 Introduction 52 2 IFAS: A Successor of the Soviet System of Water Resources Management 53 3 The Birth of a New Institutional Structure 54 4 Establishment of the Inter-State Commission on Water Coordination 56 5 Establishment of the Inter-State Commission on Sustainable Development 57 6 Establishment of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea 59 7 Attempts to Create a More Unified Institutional Structure 60 8 National Governance Systems that Shaped Regional Institutions 62 9 Analysis of the Institutional Frameworks for Water Resources Management: The International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea 63 10 Institutional Weaknesses of IFAS 64 10.1 Obsolete Legal Basis 64 11 A Management Structure Unable to Ensure Operational Coordination 65 12 Reform Attempts 67 13 Conclusions 69 References 70 Transboundary Rivers in Central Asia: Cooperation and Conflicts Among Countries 71 1 Introduction 72 2 Transboundary Rivers in Central Asia 74 3 Water Problems of Central Asia After the USSR Breakup 76 4 The Role of Water Resources in Central Asia Development 77 5 Central Asian Countries and Their Water Policy 81 6 Transboundary Watercourses of Central Asia and International Law 83 7 The Policy of the Central Asian Countries: The Irrigation-Hydropower Pendulum 84 8 Conflict Potential 86 9 Conclusions 88 References 89 Application of the UNECE Environmental Conventions in Central Asia 91 1 Introduction 92 2 Central Asia: From National to Transboundary Water Management 92 2.1 Soviet Water Management in Central Asia 92 2.2 Water Management Challenges in the New Independent States in Central Asia 94 3 UNECE Conventions 96 3.1 UNECE Water Convention and Its Programme of Work 98 3.2 The Espoo Convention 100 3.3 The Industrial Accidents Convention 101 3.4 The Aarhus Convention 101 4 UNECE Conventions and Transboundary Water Cooperation in Central Asia 102 4.1 The Present Situation 102 4.2 The Potential for an Improved Application of UNECE Conventions 104 4.3 Application of the UNECE Conventions 105 4.3.1 Building and Maintenance of Dams 105 4.3.2 Chu-Talas River Basins 106 4.3.3 Water Quality 107 4.3.4 Afghan-Tajik Cooperation 108 5 Conclusions 109 References 110 Water-Energy-Food-Environmental Nexus in Central Asia: From Transition to Transformation 112 1 Introduction 113 2 Framework: Nexus Discourse 115 2.1 Nexus in the SDG Context 115 2.2 Water, Food, and Energy Security Nexus 115 2.3 Water-Energy-Food Nexus 115 2.4 Understanding Systems Complexity and Social Nature 115 2.5 Integration Modeling Frameworks 116 2.6 Transformation of Water Management Framework 116 3 Soviet Legacy: Pseudo-Nexus and Its Disappearance 116 4 Transformations in Water Systems in Central Asia 119 5 Water Security 121 6 Energy Security 122 7 Food Security 124 8 Environment 125 9 Conclusions 126 References 126 US Policy in Central Asia: Water-Energy Nexus Priorities 130 1 Introduction 130 2 US Interests in Central Asia 131 3 US Cooperation Initiatives and Regional Agenda 134 4 USAID Regional Development Projects 136 5 Conclusions 138 References 139 German Water Resources Policy in Central Asia 141 1 Introduction 142 2 The EU Water Framework Directive 144 3 Central Asia Strategy Paper 2002-2006 145 4 Toward a New EU ́s Strategy for Central Asia: The German Factor 146 5 The Role of Germany in the Formation of a New EU ́s Policy for Central Asia 147 6 Germany ́s Participation in the Adoption of the EU ́s Strategy for Central Asia 2007-2013 148 7 The Main Outcomes of the EU ́s Strategy for Central Asia 2007-2013 149 8 German Water Initiative (``The Berlin Process ́ ́) 151 9 German Political Funds and Financial Institutions in the Water Sector of Central Asia 156 10 Conclusions 157 References 158 Water Transboundary Policy of Kazakhstan and China 160 1 Introduction 161 2 Transboundary Rivers of Kazakhstan and China 162 3 Development Strategy of the Chinese ``Wild ́ ́ West 165 4 Negotiations Between Kazakhstan and China 168 5 Conclusion 172 References 174 Water Resource Policy of Kazakhstan 175 1 Introduction 177 2 The Role of Transboundary Rivers for Kazakhstan 178 3 Legal Framework for Interstate Cooperation in Central Asia 179 4 Policy of Kazakhstan in Water and Energy Resources 181 5 Kazakhstan-China Relations in Water Resources 182 6 Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan Transboundary Rivers 186 7 Kazakhstan-Uzbekistan Transboundary Rivers 187 8 Kazakhstan-Russia: Mechanisms of Interaction 188 9 Conclusion 190 References 191 Contemporary Water Policy of Kyrgyzstan 192 1 Introduction 193 2 Background Information 195 3 Water-Energy Potential of Kyrgyzstan 196 4 Sources of Conflicts Between Kyrgyzstan and Neighbor States 198 5 Bilateral Relations of Kyrgyzstan with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan 199 6 Pathways for Water Conflict Solution 201 7 Conclusion 203 References 205 Impact of Water and Energy Problems on the Economic Development of Uzbekistan 206 1 Introduction 207 2 Characteristics of Uzbekistan ́s Water and Energy Systems 207 3 Relations with Neighboring Countries in the Spheres of Water Use and Hydropower 210 4 Water Use Legislation and Practices in the Country ́s Economy 213 5 Conclusions 217 References 218 Soft Power of Tajikistan on the Water Agenda: Cross-Scale Dynamics 220 1 Tajikistan and Its Water Resources 221 2 The Hydro-Energy Complex at the Regional Level 223 3 The Attributes of the Soft Power of Tajikistan on the Water Agenda 227 4 An Assessment of 15 Years of Initiatives and the New Water Decade 230 References 232 Turkmenistan Water Resources Policy in Central Asia 234 1 Introduction 235 2 Water Resources 236 3 Agreements with Neighboring States 242 4 From Water Policy to Water Diplomacy 244 5 Conclusions 246 References 247 Afghanistan Water Resources Policy in Central Asia 248 1 Introduction 249 2 Geography 250 3 Water Resources 251 4 Agriculture and Irrigation 256 5 Transboundary Rivers of Northern Afghanistan 258 6 Current Use of Transboundary Rivers 261 7 Conclusions 263 References 266 Conclusions 267 References 278 Index 280 Front Matter ....Pages i-xii Introduction (Sergey S. Zhiltsov, Igor S. Zonn, Andrey G. Kostianoy, Aleksandr V. Semenov)....Pages 1-8 Water Resources of Central Asia: Historical Overview (Sergey S. Zhiltsov, Marina S. Zhiltsova, Nikolay P. Medvedev, Dmitry Y. Slizovskiy)....Pages 9-24 Legal Framework of Interstate Cooperation on Water Resources of Central Asia (Barbara Janusz-Pawletta)....Pages 25-39 Institutional Cooperation on Water Resources Management in Central Asia (Marton Krasznai)....Pages 41-60 Transboundary Rivers in Central Asia: Cooperation and Conflicts Among Countries (Sergej S. Zhiltsov, Igor S. Zonn, Oleg E. Grishin, Vladimir G. Egorov, Mark S. Ruban)....Pages 61-80 Application of the UNECE Environmental Conventions in Central Asia (Bo Libert)....Pages 81-101 Water-Energy-Food-Environmental Nexus in Central Asia: From Transition to Transformation (Shavkat Rakhmatullaev, Iskandar Abdullaev, Jusipbek Kazbekov)....Pages 103-120 US Policy in Central Asia: Water-Energy Nexus Priorities (Anna Y. Gussarova)....Pages 121-131 German Water Resources Policy in Central Asia (Oksana A. Boyarkina)....Pages 133-151 Water Transboundary Policy of Kazakhstan and China (Igor S. Zonn, Sergej S. Zhiltsov, Lidiya A. Parkhomchik, Elena A. Markova)....Pages 153-167 Water Resource Policy of Kazakhstan (Sergey S. Zhiltsov, Igor S. Zonn, Adelina S. Nogmova, Vladimir V. Shtol)....Pages 169-185 Contemporary Water Policy of Kyrgyzstan (Sergey S. Zhiltsov, Igor S. Zonn, Vladimir V. Shtol, Vladimir G. Egorov)....Pages 187-200 Impact of Water and Energy Problems on the Economic Development of Uzbekistan (Elena M. Kuzmina)....Pages 201-214 Soft Power of Tajikistan on the Water Agenda: Cross-Scale Dynamics (Jon Marco Church)....Pages 215-228 Turkmenistan Water Resources Policy in Central Asia (Igor S. Zonn, Andrey G. Kostianoy, Tatyana V. Lokteva, Vladimir V. Shtol)....Pages 229-242 Afghanistan Water Resources Policy in Central Asia (Igor S. Zonn, Aleksandr V. Semenov, Alla V. Nikonorova, Vladimir G. Egorov)....Pages 243-261 Conclusions (Sergey S. Zhiltsov, Igor S. Zonn, Andrey G. Kostianoy, Aleksandr V. Semenov)....Pages 263-275 Back Matter ....Pages 277-281 Introduction -- Water resources in Central Asia: Historical overview -- Legal framework of interstate cooperation on water resources of Central Asia -- Institutional cooperation on water resources in Central Asia -- Transboundary rivers in Central Asia: Cooperation and conflicts among countries -- Application of the UNECE Environmental Conventions in Central Asia -- Water-Energy-Food-Environmental Nexus in Central Asia: From Transition to Transformation -- U.S. Policy in Central Asia: Water-Energy Nexus Priorities -- German water resources policy in Central Asia -- Water Transboundary Policy of Kazakhstan and China -- Water resource policy of Kazakhstan -- Contemporary Water Policy of Kyrgyzstan -- Impact of Water and Energy Problems on the Economic Development of Uzbekistan -- Soft Power of Tajikistan on the Water Agenda: Cross-Scale Dynamics -- Turkmenistan water resghources policy in Central Asia -- Afghanistan water resources policy in Central Asia -- Conclusions