At 2,200 km, the Syr Darya is Central Asia’s
longest river. It flows through Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and
Uzbekistan and feeds the disappearing Aral Sea. The river provides water to
millions of people, generates power and supplies agriculture. This makes it a
source of conflict. Since the end of the Soviet Union, disagreements have been
arising over the use and distribution of water from the Syr Darya.
The VW Foundation is backing an
international project into the deeper cultural and social significance of the
Naryn – Syr Darya River.
The Volkswagen Foundation is
sponsoring a Tübingen-led international research project on water resources in central
Asia. The project, entitled “The Social Life of a River: Environmental
histories, social worlds and conflict resolution along the Naryn-Syr Darya,”
brings together cultural anthropologists, political scientists and historians
from Germany, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan to investigate the social and
environmental history of the Syr Darya river. The Volkswagen Foundation is
contributing €450,000. The project began last September and will run until
September 2018.
The five researchers aim to explore
people’s attitudes toward the river and the influence of these attitudes on
coexistence in the region. Ultimately, the goal is to find new perspectives for
regional water management. The researchers will draw on a wide range of
information, including archives, interviews, and observations on location. They
will document how the river is perceived and used by different parties, as well
as how it influences social and political conditions along its banks.
Dr. Jeanne Féaux de la Croix of
Tübingen University’s Institute of Asian and Oriental Studies is conducting an
ethnological study into the effects of new dams along the upper reaches of the
Syr Darya, where it is called the Naryn river.
Dr. Mokhira Suyarkulova of the
international University of Central Asia is investigating how knowledge about
the river is generated by water scientists at universities, in government
agencies and international organizations – and how that discourse influences
the way the Syr Darya is used in the Tajik region of Khojand.
Dr. Adham Ashirov of Uzbekistan’s
Historical Institute at the Academy of Sciences in Tashkent looks at the
relationship the rural population in the country’s Ferghana Valley has with the
river, incorporating both practical exploitation of the river as well as art
and folklore surrounding it.
Doctoral student Gulzat Baialieva of
the Bishkek Humanities University in Kyrgyzstan will examine how local
residents experienced the Soviet-era construction of hydroelectric power
stations and industrial towns; and the collapse of industry dependent on
hydroelectricity, as well as the role played by the river now in economic and
everyday life.
Another Kyrgyz PhD student, Aibek
Samakov, is researching the river’s Kazakh delta to find out how people there
deal with a water source which constantly alternates between flooding and
drying out – not least because of agricultural and hydropower decisions
upriver.
The overall aim is to conduct a
comprehensive socio-economic study on the role of the Naryn/ Syr Darya river in
central Asia.
“We hope to open up new perspectives
on this deeply historical river,” said Féaux de la Croix. “We aim to open up a
one-sided, purely economic view of it as a water source, moving to an
understanding of the river as a key place of interaction, which has helped to
shape life in the region.” It is often reported that Central Asia does not have
enough water, but the real problem is not a lack of water but an uneven
distribution of it. “A new focus will open up possibilities, new ways of
developing water management in the region.”
Féaux de la Croix, a cultural
anthropologist, is a co-founder of the Central Eurasian Scholars and Media
Initiative (CESMI).
The social scientists
involved in the current project are seeking dialogue with water management and
scientific experts in Central Asia. In collaboration with partners such as the
University of Central Asia in Bischkek and the Uzbek Academy of Sciences, they
aim to strengthen research and teaching on political ecology, environmental
anthropology and environmental history in the region. This will include
international conferences, a multimedia website, a database (the Syr Darya
Knowledge Hub), and a travelling exhibition at points along the river. By Eurasia Review
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