INCREASING HUMAN SECURITY TO PREVENT WATER WARS IN THE FERGHANA VALLEY
Keywords:
Border disputes, conflict, Ferghana, human security, water management.Abstract
The Ferghana Valley is shared by three Central Asian republics of Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. Largely agrarian, the communities residing in the area are heavily dependent on the availability of water for irrigation. As a result of Soviet-backed imaginary border removal and the creation of new borders, the communities became highly vulnerable to state policies and are challenged in establishing relations with each other. The deteriorated environmental conditions, such as dry climate and drought, have only fueled the competition among households to ensure their access to the scarce water resources. Without timely and comprehensive intervention strategies, the region can be compared to a time bomb that could have irreversible consequences.
This article will examine the water problem in the Ferghana Valley from the perspective of a human security approach. In particular, it will analyze the trilateral spurious relations among environmental, economic, and community insecurities derived from the scarcity of water resources and lack of comprehensive water management strategies. To elaborate, it will look into how environmental insecurity has multidimensional impacts on economic and community security in the Ferghana Valley. This research with go on to identify the existing approaches to addressing the aforementioned issues and will scrutinize them to see whether or not they address human security of the communities residing in the Ferghana Valley. Subsequently, the article will propose an alternative solution that meets the principles of human security-friendly policies and will discuss strategies to improve alternative intervention within the framework of “do no harm.”
Downloads
References
See: D. Goudie, “An Overview of the Ferghana Valley,” Perspectives on Central Asia (Eisenhower Institute’s Center for Political and Strategic Studies), Vol. 1, No. 1, January 1996, p. 12.
See: D. McKinney, Cooperative Management of Transboundary Water Resources in Central Asia, 4th Draft, November 2003, p. 3.
See: T. Siegfried et al., Will Climate Change Exacerbate or Mitigate Water Stress in Central Asia?, 2011, p. 2,available at [http://water.columbia.edu/files/2011/11/syrDarya_ClimateImpacts_Siegfried.pdf].
See: Tajikistan: Poverty in the Context of Climate Change, National Human Development Report 2012, UNDP, p. 13.
See: Transforming Risks into Cooperation. Central Asia: Ferghana-Osh-Khujand Area, ENVSEC Initiative, United Nations Development Program, p. 26.
See: Ibid., p. 27.
See: World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs,New York, 2011.
See: Joint Economic Assessment: Reconciliation, Recovery, and Reconstruction, World Bank, July 2010, p. 87.
See: “Analysis of Existing Agreements between Countries of Central Asia in the Area of Water Relations from the Stand Point of Kazakhstan’s Interests,” ADB Project on Improving Common Water Resources of Central Asia, Ministry of Agriculture of Kazakhstan, Water Resources Committee, January 2006, p. 1.
See: C. Bichsel, “‘Liquid Challenges: Contested Water in Central Asia’,” Sustainable Development Law & Policy,Fall 2011: Natural Resource Conflicts, Vol. 12, Issue 1, Art 8, p. 26.
See: M.N. Kipshakbaev et al., Diagnostic Report on Water Resources in Central Asia, 2002, available at [http://aoa.
w.eea.europa.eu/tools/virtual_library/bibliography-details-each-assessment/answer_054 3207904/w_ assessment-upload/index_html?as_attachment:int=1].
See: Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic and the Government
f the Republic of Uzbekistan on Cooperation in the Field of Environmental Protection and Conservation, Bishkek, 17 March, 1998.
See: “Analysis of Existing Agreements between Countries of Central Asian in the Area of Water Relations from the Standpoint of Kazakhstan’s Interests,” pp. 7-8.
See: C. Bichsel, op. cit., p. 25.
Human Security Now: Final Report, Commission on Human Security, 2003, p. 2.
Sh. Tadjbakhsh, A.M. Chenoy, Human Security. Concepts and Implications, New York: Routledge, 2007, p. 13.
See: Outline of the Report of the Commission on Human Security, U.N. Commission on Human Security, 2006.
See: Application of the Human Security Concept in Theory and Practice, U.N. Trust Fund for Human Security, 2003,
See: Sh. Tadjbakhsh, A.M. Chenoy, op. cit., pp. 16-17.
The project called the Water and Sanitation Extension program undertaken by AKPBS in northern Pakistan to provide water supply infrastructure and to improve water sanitation is considered a success (for more details, see: Activities in Pakistan,Aga Khan Planning and Building Services, available at [http://www.akdn.org/akpbs_pakistan.asp], 12 May, 2013).
See: S. MacDonald, Economic Policy and Cotton in Uzbekistan, United States Department of Agriculture, October 2012, p. 1.
See: CIA World Fact Book, available at [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/], 22 September,2013.
See: Early-Warning Analysis, OCHA the Ferghana Valley, September 2003.
See: A. Alexandrov, “Uzbekistan Gets Credit It May Not Need to Modernize Irrigation System,” Central Asia Online,29 August, 2009, available at [http://centralasiaonline.com/en_GB/articles/caii/features/2009/08/29/ feature-06].
See: The Economics for Ecosystem and Biodiversity-TEEB Report for Business, Annex 2.1 Case Studies, Trucost,September 2010, available at [http://www.trucost.com/_uploads/downloads/Teeb_for_Business Ch2_ Annex_online.pdf ].
See: Social-Economic Significance of Water Management and Irrigated Agriculture of the Ferghana Valley, IWRM-Ferghana, available at [http://iwrm.icwc aral.uz/socio_economic_en.htm], 12 May, 2013.
See: GDP per capita (current) in USD, World Bank data, available at [http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD?page=2], 12 December, 2013.
See: GDP per capita (current) in USD, World Bank data, available at [http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.
CAP.CD], 12 December, 2013.
See: GDP per capita (current) in USD, World Bank data, available at [http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.
CAP.CD?page=2], 12 December, 2013.
See: GDP per capita (current) in USD, World Bank data, available at [http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.
CAP.CD], 12 December, 2013.
See: GDP per capita (current) in USD, World Bank data, available at [http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.
CAP.CD?page=2], 12 December, 2013.
See: GDP per capita (current) in USD, World Bank data, available at [http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.CAP.CD], 12 December, 2013.
See: F. Steward, G.K. Brown, A. Langer, Major Findings and Conclusions on the Relationship between Horizontal Inequalities and Conflict, Center for Research on Inequality, Human Security and Ethnicity (CRISE Policy Conference), July 2007, p. 409.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2013 AUTHOR
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
You are free to:
- Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format for any purpose, even commercially.
- Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.
- The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.
Under the following terms:
- Attribution — You must give appropriate credit , provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made . You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
- No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
Notices:
You do not have to comply with the license for elements of the material in the public domain or where your use is permitted by an applicable exception or limitation .
No warranties are given. The license may not give you all of the permissions necessary for your intended use. For example, other rights such as publicity, privacy, or moral rights may limit how you use the material.
