Posledice međunarodnih problema oko raspodele resursa pijaće vode na prostoru Centralne Azije
Implications of international problems regarding distribution of drinking water resources in Central Asia

Summary/Abstract: Irrational use of the waters of the Syr Darya and the Amu Darya, in Central Asia, and in the area of the Aral basin, led to a major disruption of the water balance of the Aral Sea. During the 60s of the last century, the decision of the Soviet Union authorities, the region was transformed into a "cotton region" for whose needs was built a large number of irrigation channels. Requirements for the production of cotton grew from year to year, which contributed to the increase of the drinking water consumption. Since 1961, the intake of water in the lake has been so reduced that it could not compensate for the amount of water lost by evaporation. In this way, the water level in the lake was constantly decreasing, so that in 1989 the lake level dropped by 14 m compared to 1960. However, after the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991, in the Aral basin were created 5 new countries, which could not find a common ground regarding the allocation and use of drinking water resources, which only worsened the huge environmental disaster in the region, leaving the immeasurable consequences (climatic, environmental, social and health) not only on wildlife but also on people. The tendency of every newborn state to have the primacy in the use and consumption of limited resources of drinking water, or desire to do the utmost to fully exploit "their" potable water resources, which are the primary catalyst for the growth of their weak economies, represents the most serious security threat that could destabilize the Central Asian region, and undoubtedly increase the existing potential militarization, disputes and conflicts over this limited but renewable natural resource. In the paper is especially emphasized the true state of drinking water resources in Central Asia – the Aral basin, the causes and consequences of the international dispute in the Aral Sea basin.

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