Anis Khosravani; Mohammad Tohidfam
Volume 26, Issue 109 , May 2020, , Pages 1-31
Abstract
Due to the extremely indiscrete nature of the aquatic structures and the complicated and manipulated hydropolitics of Central Asia, the water, energy and food security in every country ...
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Due to the extremely indiscrete nature of the aquatic structures and the complicated and manipulated hydropolitics of Central Asia, the water, energy and food security in every country in the region is potentially affected by even a slight change in the water politics of each of the five states. Accordingly, Central Asia, or at least every set of states situated at two drainage basins of Amu Darya and Syr Darya, could be considered as a hydropolitical security complex. This study analyzes and evaluates Turkmenistan’s policy on water resources within the Amu Darya hydropolitical security complex, with an emphasis on the use of extraterritorial surface runoff. The question is “what do Turkmenistan’s water problems arise from and what is the practical way to overcome them?” In response, the hypothesis that was tested is that “the water problems in Turkmenistan are caused by growing demands for irrigation in that country that are the result of three factors: rapid population growth, non-optimal irrigation methods, and the climate change. A plan to optimize the water consumption and develop a multilateral mechanism for fair allocation of water with the purpose of ensuring water-energy security in all countries located in the Amu Darya hydropolitical security complex would address the water problems to a large extent.” This article is based on qualitative method (descriptive-analytical research) and has used inductive methodology. The descriptive statistics and the findings based on this method have been analyzed in the light of the concept of water security and the hydropolitical security complex hypothesis. An analysis of the findings of the article confirm the abovementioned hypothesis to some extent, suggesting that Turkmenistan and other downstream countries have no choice but to “abandon the option for cash crop farming and focus on substitute plans to generate profit and provide employment for the rural population” or to “follow a pattern similar to the water-energy barter system under the Soviet Union”.
