Water Resources Management in Central Asia

Conclusions
Amidst the economic slowdown in the region, it is unlikely that over 
the short- or medium-term perspective, governments in Central Asia 
will take the necessary steps towards addressing the prevailing water 
management problems. And while tensions are most likely to escalate, 
these would in turn aggravate other non-water-related regional prob-
lems. 
Establishing an efficient water resources management system is a legit-
imate Central Asia-wide concern that is precisely why the ruling elites of 
the countries must acknowledge that finding a solution to the prevailing 
water issues ultimately involves going beyond unilateral actions that 
cause harm to their co-riparians, and that a concerted action by all the 
region’s states is a tall order. There are grounds for optimism in examin-
ing the prospects for resolving existing water related issues in Central 
Asia, which must be viewed in a wider geopolitical and socio-economic 
context.

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Anar Khamzayeva
30
Documentos CIDOB, Asia
Water resources management in Central Asia
Central Asian states continue to find themselves in a quite difficult 
position of prolonged balancing and manoeuvring between external 
players, while setting forth their own foreign policy priorities. Located 
at the crossroad of the strategic interests of world and regional powers, it 
is widely acknowledged that a divided and weakened Central Asia may 
become a ground for contention among the various external players, 
primarily Russia, China, US and the EU.
The case of water management issues in Central Asia compels one to 
pose some fundamental questions over how critical issues at stake such 
as managing regional water resources come to interplay with broader 
issues of great power politics, security, energy and democracy promotion 
agendas in what is a strategically significant part of the world.