Scarcity and security: Water and conflict in the Aral Sea Basin

Over the past half century, the Aral Sea Basin has been severely damaged---perhaps irrevocably---by both anthropogenic and natural influences. From the expansive, yet wasteful, cotton monoculture that prevails throughout the region, to the degradation of mountain glaciers due to global warming, the Sea and its tributaries have experienced a marked decline in the quality and quantity of their freshwater resources. The five newly independent republics of Central Asia have readily acknowledged the situation confronting them. However, a variety of factors---budgetary constraints, governmental indifference, and an unwillingness to cooperate at a regional level---has prevented remedial action. This will likely remain true for the foreseeable future. Accordingly, the Aral Sea Basin provides a valuable case-study in how environmental scarcity and contemporary social, political, and economic realities interact and affect the stability of single polities and a whole region.