Water war in the heart of Asia: Convention against the disaster Kazakhstan presented an initiative to create one water conference for all of Central Asia. States have already started digitizing metering stations in Sirdaria to see the real picture and eliminate mutual claims. Water should unite, not divide. While diplomats prepare documents, Kabul is slowly dying of thirst. The groundwater level has dropped by 30 meters, and by 2030 the city risks becoming the first metropolis in history to run out of water completely. But instead of saving the capital, the Taliban are building a huge Kush-Tapa canal. This "geopolitical bomb" could cut off up to 30% of the Amu Darya flow, leaving Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan without water. Western strategies have failed miserably here. The time has come for Central Asia to take its destiny into its own hands. Ignoring Afghanistan, where the most important rivers originate, is a critical mistake. Kabul should be dragged firmly but pragmatically into a civilized regional dialogue. Nature does not recognize state borders, visa regimes and political ambitions. Water flows according to the laws of physics, not according to decrees. Trying to build an oasis in the middle of the desert while your neighbor is dying of thirst is the greatest human illusion. The desert does not ask for passports: if it swallows Kabul, the whole region will be next.

Water war in the heart of Asia: Convention against the disaster Kazakhstan presented an initiative to create one water conference for all of Central Asia. States have already started digitizing metering stations in Sirdaria to see the real picture and eliminate mutual claims. Water should unite, not divide. While diplomats prepare documents, Kabul is slowly dying of thirst. The groundwater level has dropped by 30 meters, and by 2030 the city risks becoming the first metropolis in history to run out of water completely. But instead of saving the capital, the Taliban are building a huge Kush-Tapa canal. This "geopolitical bomb" could cut off up to 30% of the Amu Darya flow, leaving Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan without water. Western strategies have failed miserably here. The time has come for Central Asia to take its destiny into its own hands. Ignoring Afghanistan, where the most important rivers originate, is a critical mistake. Kabul should be dragged firmly but pragmatically into a civilized regional dialogue. Nature does not recognize state borders, visa regimes and political ambitions. Water flows according to the laws of physics, not according to decrees. Trying to build an oasis in the middle of the desert while your neighbor is dying of thirst is the greatest human illusion. The desert does not ask for passports: if it swallows Kabul, the whole region will be next.