In the Ferghana Valley of Central Asia, neighbouring Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are at loggerheads over crucial water resources. This territorial dispute is exacerbated by climate change and the gradual melting of glaciers in the region. Is the future of the Ferghana Valley at risk? FRANCE 24's Marie Boyer and Germain Baslé report.
The Ferghana Valley is a green oasis in the middle of the dry grasslands of Central Asia. Located in between Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, the region concentrates all the water resources for a territory home to 15 million people. But for decades now, the land has been the scene of a new conflict: a war over water.
In recent years, violent clashes have been increasing on the border between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Around the water reservoirs, the Kyrgyz army has deployed a special unit, and shots are fired against Tajiks who attempt to access the area. Dozens of clashes have erupted, with the deadliest occurring in 2022, when 36 people were killed. With water becoming a scarce resource – an issue worsened by melting glaciers – locals in border villages take matters into their own hands, with cases of looting and houses being burnt down.
Faced with this violence and the lack of water to cultivate their lands, thousands of people have already been forced to flee the region.
