Republic of Uzbekistan
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Role in the Aral Sea Crisis
Uzbekistan’s main export is cotton, and it’s consistently ranked one of the top three exporters globally.[1] Cotton, unfortunately, requires lots of water to grow, which Uzbekistan does not naturally possess, especially now that its end of the Aral Sea (the Southern Sea) is so desiccated. Cotton has been grown in Uzbekistan for hundreds of years, and the practice of producing it is very much a part of the culture there. It was only during the Soviet period though, that cotton production expanded enormously (they called it “white gold”). This expansion was enabled by decades of problematic central planning by the Soviet Union, and wasteful, essentially unsustainable irrigation practices. As the Soviet Union expanded the territory irrigated in Uzbekistan, and thus the rate of cotton production, they provided the state with other resources, like food and energy in exchange.[2]
Since their independence, Uzbekistan has taken several steps to ameliorate their agricultural system, including, among many others, producing more wheat, and a little less cotton. This has proved beneficial both as a protection against food insecurity, and as a way to reduce water for irrigation, as wheat requires substantially less water than cotton, and a greater portion of what it does need can be taken in via rainfall. Unfortunately, this shift also appears to have had a somewhat negative impact on irrigation management systems, as the drainage system is now ‘in use’ almost full time, leaving little to no room for repairs or cleaning. The government has also created subsidies for cotton and wheat, in order to fill the quotas they desire.[2]
According to the FAO, Uzbekistan as a state is particularly at-risk with respect to water “because it has the highest irrigated area (4.3 million hectares), the biggest rural population (more than 14 million) and the highest population density of 49.6 persons per square kilometer.”[3] While the government has evidently taken many steps in order to improve the country’s agricultural prospects, seriously rehabilitating the Aral Sea has not been among them. And while many of the steps they’ve taken have been useful, irrigation infrastructure, irrigation practices, and crop variety need strengthening, especially as Uzbekistan feels the effects of climate change.[4] Furthermore, the locals have already seriously felt secondhand effects of the pollution from the drying Sea. Worrisome levels of metals, pesticides, and dioxins have made their way into cord blood and breast milk in the country.[5]
- ^ National Cotton Council of America. “Rankings.†Accessed July 24, 2013. http://www.cotton.org/econ/cropinfo/cropdata/rankings.cfm.
- ^ 2.0 2.1 Adbullaev, I, Charlotte De Fraiture, Mark Giordano, Murat Yakubov, and Aziz Rasulov. 2009. “Agricultural Water Use and Trade in Uzbekistan: Situation and Potential Impacts of Market Liberalization.†Water Resources Development 25: 47-63, Accessed July 30, 2013. http://www.zef.de/module/register/media/5d18_Abdullaev_revise.pdf
- ^ Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. “Land Resources: Uzbekistan – CACILM.†Accessed July 25, 2013. http://www.fao.org/nr/land/projects-programmes/cacilm-initiative/cacilm-project/uzbekistan/en/
- ^ Sutton, W.R., Srivastava, J.P., and Neumann, J.E. Looking Beyond the Horizon: How Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Responses Will Reshape Agriculture in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Report #76184. Series DIRECTIONS IN DEVELOPMENT Agriculture and Rural Development. The World Bank, Washington D.C. 2013. Electronic download July 31 2013 from http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/03/17473996/looking-beyond-horizon-climate-change-impacts-adaptation-responses-reshape-agriculture-eastern-europe-central-asia or http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2013/03/22/000356161_20130322155958/Rendered/PDF/761840PUB0EPI00LIC00pubdate03015013.pdf
- ^ Ataniyazova, O., Baumann, R., Liem, A., Mukhopadhyay, U., Vogelaar, E. and Boersma, E. 2001. “Levels of certain metals, organochlorine pesticides and dioxins in cord blood, maternal blood, human milk and some commonly used nutrients in the surroundings of the Aral Sea (Karakalpakstan, Republic of Uzbekistan).†Acta Paediatrica, 90: 801–808. doi: 10.1111/j.1651-2227.2001.tb02808.x
Case Studies Related to Republic of Uzbekistan[edit]
Articles linked to Republic of Uzbekistan[edit]
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