Cotton in our Ears: Water, Agriculture, and Climatic Change in the Post Aral Context

Abstract

When agricultural productivity was studied in areas of the Zarafshan valley incorporating 26 rayons or counties, a clear relationship was found between increased use of water and decreased efficiency. Moreover, inefficiencies were most evident in the Bukhara region, where water quality is the poorest. There, an overall slide in productivity was evident. A shift to sustainable water use and farming practices was called for. Convergent findings were found in a second, computer modeling study. On an index of water overuse, a significant relationship between water overuse and a decline in agricultural production was again demonstrated. The potential impacts of climate change on agricutural productivity were also modeled, revealing a tentative relationship between a decline of productivity and a 1% increase in temperature.

Citation

Hasanov, S., Nomman Ahmed, M., Ganiev, I. and Murtazaev, O. (2012), "Cotton in our Ears: Water, Agriculture, and Climatic Change in the Post Aral Context", Edelstein, M.R., Cerny, A. and Gadaev, A. (Ed.) Disaster by Design: The Aral Sea and its Lessons for Sustainability (Research in Social Problems and Public Policy, Vol. 20), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 187-195. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0196-1152(2012)0000020022