Drought May Test Central Asia’s New Cooperative Approach

Global Water Security Center

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Drought May Test Central Asia’s New Cooperative Approach

Penny Beames, GWSC Human-Environmental Analyst, has had a new opinion article published in The Diplomat.

Central Asia is facing one of its driest periods in decades, placing new strain on shared rivers, energy systems, and regional diplomacy. Recent progress in cross-border water cooperation is now being tested by falling reservoir levels and growing demand.

Water has long shaped relations among Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. What makes this moment different is that it comes after years of renewed political will to coordinate on water sharing and energy swaps. The question now is whether those agreements can hold under real environmental pressure.

If you are following water security, regional diplomacy, or climate risk, this is a development worth watching.

Read the full analysis here: https://thediplomat.com/2026/02/drought-may-test-central-asias-new-cooperative-approach/