Dams in neighbouring countries may impact cotton output
07 Oct '09
1 min read
Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are planning to construct additional hydroelectric facilities on the headwaters of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers, which originate on their territory before flowing westwards through Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.
This is expected to impede the regular flow of water from these countries to Uzbekistan. This in turn may affect the productivity of the cotton crop which is dependent on these waters in the country in the cotton growing season.
Uzbekistan is the fifth largest cotton producer and the second largest exporter of cotton in the world. Due to the building of the dam, large volumes of water will be stored at these generation stations, which will reduce the flow of water in to Uzbekistan.