Central Asia

Role in the Aral Sea Crisis

Turkmenistan suffers from similar problems to its neighbors, including inefficient irrigation, and harmful pollution of water and land with chemicals, pesticides, and salination from the irrigation. One country report listed the efficiency of the irrigation system around 57%, and in particular pointed out the lack of effective infrastructure.^[1]

Turkmenistan has significant reserves of oil and gas, and it is estimated that agriculture makes up less than 10% of GDP, but employs about half of the country’s working population.^[2]

On the international scale, Turkmenistan is criticized for their cotton monoculture (similar to the situation in Uzbekistan) and for diverting a significant amount of water from the Amu Darya, which has contributed to the current state of the Southern Aral Sea.^[2]

^ Berdiev, Arslan. National Report of Turkmenistan on Regional Water Partnership, Republic of Turkmenistan Country Report Global Water Partnership. http://www.gwp.org/Global/GWP-CACENA_Files/en/pdf/turkmenistan.pdf.
^ ^2.0 ^2.1 Central Intelligence Agency. The World Factbook: Turkmenistan.Accessed July 29, 2013, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/tx.html