Can WARMAP save the Aral Sea?

Abstract

We remember the Aral Sea as one the world’s worst ecological disasters. The volume of the Aral Sea has reduced dramatically; from 1 100 km³ in 1960 to only 270 km³ in 1995. Salinization has been one of the worst effects. The water-table has risen, often bringing the groundwater into the rooting zone of the irrigated crop. Foreign aid programmes make it possible to implement high-tech Information Technology systems. One of the projects under the Tacis programme is the “WAter Resources Management and Agricultural Production in the Central Asian Republics” (WARMAP). Such projects will certainly help to solve water management problems and balance the different uses of water. But issues like maintenance and management will remain. The maintenance of the irrigation system is poor. Canals are broken and choked with reed and dirt. The top-down centralized management system is unsuited to successful development of new structures. It is focussed on technology, unable to redirect human resources and lacking in experience of market-driven processes.