The independence of the five Central Asian republics (Kazakhstan, the Kyrghyz Republic, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan) marks a turning-point in water management in the Amu Darya and Syr Darya basins. In Central Asia, water has always been a major issue for governments but the current geopolitical context, with national claims and regional interdependence inherited from the Soviet system, places water at the forefront of the region’s strategic issues.
