Three ways to measure degradation: Micklin (2000) writes that the Aral Sea is a surface-fed rather than groundwater-fed lake: it relies upon water contributions from the Amu Darya and Syr Darya. Since it is located between Central Asia's Kara-Kum, Kyzyl-Kum, and Baetpakdala deserts, its evaporation rate is relatively high. Lake evaporation contributes, however, to the atmospheric and […]
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in California ruled to allow the U.S. to continue its plan to fortify irrigation canals on the U.S. side of its border with Mexico to prevent seepage that has been used by farmers across the border in Mexicali Valley. In 2005, two U.S. environmental groups and a Mexican community […]
Amado Ramirez, a correspondent for Mexico's most popular news network, Televisa, was killed in a premeditated shooting on April 6th after a taping of his show. The perpetetrators have not yet been apprehended in what is the latest in a series of crimes targeting journalists. An official at the Inter-American Press Association has said that […]
I’ve been remiss in failing to note Joshua Foust's ongoing analyses of events concerning Central Asia's most notorious terrorist group, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU). Supposedly, Pakistan's troops have annhiliated the IMU in Waziristan–but– Today, Mr. Foust reports at Registan from a careful look at news sources and analysts, that the Waziristan conflict may not be going as advertised. The whole thread […]
Thabo Mbeki is worried that eleven months is not enough time to provide a climate for Zimbabwe to hold free and fair elections. SADC appointed Mbeki to serve as mediator between Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF, which put the old tyrant up as the party's candidate to serve another term in office, and the Movement for […]
One of the many reasons why Africa ought to matter more to the United States than it does is because it will continue to provide an important source of oil imports. This week Slate has been running four excerpts from John Ghazvinian's book Untapped: The Scramble For Africa's Oil. The excerpts include: Does Africa Measure […]
Another event celebrating the life and work of Jalal al-Din Rumi: If you are going to be in Washington, D.C. on April 12, you might consider getting a ticket to the Freer-Sackler's upcoming concert of Rumi's music and poetry. Neva Ozgen, a master of the Turkish kemanche (a kind of fiddle) will be accompanied by Bansuri flutist […]
Now here's something to talk about when you are out at dinner tonight: The Foreign Policy Association (yes, This Foreign Policy Association) recently cited some unhappy statistics. Ninety percent of the schoolchildren in the United States cannot identify Afghanistan on a map, despite the fact that our troops and reconstruction teams have been there since just […]
In order to understand the issues of climate change in Central Asia, one has to understand the nature of water distribution in the region. First of all, Asia is a large continent, with less shoreline per land mass than other continents. This has profound effects on its ability to obtain water, particularly in the Central […]
Expedia and the United Nations Foundation have teamed up as part of the World Heritage Alliance to promote sustainable travel to Mexico among its tours of UNESCO World Heritage sites. As part of the collaborative effort, Expedia announced that its employees are joining forces with local community-based tourism companies to create cultural and natural tours in Mexico. Expedia has […]
Thabo Mbeki, whom leaders of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) appointed to act as mediator between Mugabe and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) when it held its summit in Tanzania last week, appears remarkably sanguine about the crisis in Zimbabwe, all in all. In a recent interview Mbeki, when asked if he […]
Today, RFE/RL Newsline reports that twelve suspected Taliban fighters from Afghanistan will be transferred from Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan to the newly refurbished Pol-e Charki Prison near Kabul. Soon, other Afghanistani nationals in Guantanamo Bay will also be transferred to Pol-e Charki. Last year, Financial Times reported that 110 detainees in Guantanamo would […]
10:00 a.m., April 2-Flooding that began March 27 has resulted in the death of more than 80 people and the displacement of hundreds of people in one-third of Afghanistan's provinces. Mudslides and flooding also killed ten and displaced many in Tajikistan two days ago; today, earthquakes at 6.2 on the Richter scale have affected Dushanbe and outlying areas. […]
Can good governance be encouraged through financial incentives? Sudanese businessman Mo Ibrahim believes it can be and he has established a prize in his name to do so. Former United Nations chief Kofi Annan will head the committee making the award, which “will go to former presidents and prime ministers from sub-Saharan Africa who left […]
Russia's new law that bans illegal migrants from working in city marketplaces and other retail jobs has just gone into effect. As reported by the World Bank, most temporary migrants in Central Asia move to Russia to find work. Russia is the second largest destination for migration in the world. Migration statistics show that Kazakhstan sends […]