Delta Blues (documentary film)
Encyclopedia
Delta Blues is a documentary film shot in 2000. The movie deals with the environmental problems emanating from the drying up of the Aral Sea
, and the impact this has on political relationships in the Central Asian
region (especially Uzbekistan
, Kazakhstan
, Kyrgyzstan
, and Turkmenistan
). In particular, it focuses on the by UNESCO
, as presented in 2000 at the 2nd World Water Forum
in The Hague. This document has been criticized for setting unrealistic goals, and also, by focusing on the entire basin (south-west Kazakhstan
, Uzbekistan
, Turkmenistan
), for implicitly giving up on the Aral Sea
and the people living downstream in Karakalpakstan.
is the extensive irrigation
, used for the production of (mainly) cotton
. Apart from cotton being a thirsty crop, the irrigation canals are very inefficient and much water is wasted. Furthermore, the water that is returned to the rivers is highly polluted (with pesticides and fertilizer
s). There is however no incentive
to change the irresponsible use of water in the region. Water is an externality
, regarded as given by nature or God. This leads to a situation where those (countries, regions or farms) who use most of the available water, benefit the most, but don't pay for it, leaving others (living downstream) with less and polluted water.
Whereas in most debates about accountability for water use, privatization is seen as the enemy of the people dependent on the water, many NGOs in this (former soviet) region claim instead that the source of the water-related problems lies in the irresponsible use of water, mainly by the agricultural sector (which is still predominantly owned by the state). Many claim that this can only be changed by changing the soviet paradigm
, namely by putting a price tag on water: the more water one uses and/or pollutes, the more one should pay.
Aral Sea
The Aral Sea was a lake that lay between Kazakhstan in the north and Karakalpakstan, an autonomous region of Uzbekistan, in the south...
, and the impact this has on political relationships in the Central Asian
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
region (especially Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
, Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
, Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan , officially the Kyrgyz Republic is one of the world's six independent Turkic states . Located in Central Asia, landlocked and mountainous, Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and China to the east...
, and Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan , formerly also known as Turkmenia is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic . Turkmenistan is one of the six independent Turkic states...
). In particular, it focuses on the by UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
, as presented in 2000 at the 2nd World Water Forum
World Water Forum
Every three years the World Water Council organizes a World Water Forum in close collaboration with the authorities of the host country. The World Water Forum is the largest international event in the field of water—over 30,000 participants from more than 190 countries attended the last...
in The Hague. This document has been criticized for setting unrealistic goals, and also, by focusing on the entire basin (south-west Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
, Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
, Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan , formerly also known as Turkmenia is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic . Turkmenistan is one of the six independent Turkic states...
), for implicitly giving up on the Aral Sea
Aral Sea
The Aral Sea was a lake that lay between Kazakhstan in the north and Karakalpakstan, an autonomous region of Uzbekistan, in the south...
and the people living downstream in Karakalpakstan.
Summary
The cause of the drying up of the Aral SeaAral Sea
The Aral Sea was a lake that lay between Kazakhstan in the north and Karakalpakstan, an autonomous region of Uzbekistan, in the south...
is the extensive irrigation
Irrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
, used for the production of (mainly) cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
. Apart from cotton being a thirsty crop, the irrigation canals are very inefficient and much water is wasted. Furthermore, the water that is returned to the rivers is highly polluted (with pesticides and fertilizer
Fertilizer
Fertilizer is any organic or inorganic material of natural or synthetic origin that is added to a soil to supply one or more plant nutrients essential to the growth of plants. A recent assessment found that about 40 to 60% of crop yields are attributable to commercial fertilizer use...
s). There is however no incentive
Incentive
In economics and sociology, an incentive is any factor that enables or motivates a particular course of action, or counts as a reason for preferring one choice to the alternatives. It is an expectation that encourages people to behave in a certain way...
to change the irresponsible use of water in the region. Water is an externality
Externality
In economics, an externality is a cost or benefit, not transmitted through prices, incurred by a party who did not agree to the action causing the cost or benefit...
, regarded as given by nature or God. This leads to a situation where those (countries, regions or farms) who use most of the available water, benefit the most, but don't pay for it, leaving others (living downstream) with less and polluted water.
Whereas in most debates about accountability for water use, privatization is seen as the enemy of the people dependent on the water, many NGOs in this (former soviet) region claim instead that the source of the water-related problems lies in the irresponsible use of water, mainly by the agricultural sector (which is still predominantly owned by the state). Many claim that this can only be changed by changing the soviet paradigm
Paradigm
The word paradigm has been used in science to describe distinct concepts. It comes from Greek "παράδειγμα" , "pattern, example, sample" from the verb "παραδείκνυμι" , "exhibit, represent, expose" and that from "παρά" , "beside, beyond" + "δείκνυμι" , "to show, to point out".The original Greek...
, namely by putting a price tag on water: the more water one uses and/or pollutes, the more one should pay.
Interviewees
- Oral AtaniyazovaOral AtaniyazovaOral Ataniyazova is an obstetrician and medical scientist from Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan. She is the director of Perzent, the Karakalpak Center for Reproductive Health and Environment. She was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2000. She currently lives in Nukus, Uzbekistan...
(foundation Perzent, Nukus) - Yusup Kamalov (Union for Defence of the Aral Sea and Amudarya river (UDASA), Nukus)
- Meryem Aslan (Oxfam NovibOxfam NovibOxfam Novib is the Dutch affiliate of the international Oxfam organization. It is an association dedicated to establishing a fair world with no poverty in it. The organization is based in The Hague.Oxfam Novib was founded under the name Novib in 1956...
, The Hague) - Max Spoor (Institute of Social StudiesInstitute of Social StudiesThe International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam in The Hague is a unique, independent and international graduate school in the social sciences...
, The Hague) - Ian Small (Médecins Sans FrontièresMédecins Sans Frontières' , or Doctors Without Borders, is a secular humanitarian-aid non-governmental organization best known for its projects in war-torn regions and developing countries facing endemic diseases. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland...
, Nukus) - Scott O'Connor (Central Asia Free Exchange (CAFE), Nukus)
- Sagitzjan Aitzjanov (Central Asia Free Exchange, Muynak)
- Frits Verhoog (UNESCOUNESCOThe United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
, Paris) - Rashid Koshekov (Ministry of Water, Karakalpakstan)
- Bakhtiyar Zhollybekov / Jollibekov (Tashkent Agrarian University, Nukus)
See also
- Aral SeaAral SeaThe Aral Sea was a lake that lay between Kazakhstan in the north and Karakalpakstan, an autonomous region of Uzbekistan, in the south...
- Water privatizationWater privatizationWater privatization is a short-hand for private sector participation in the provision of water services and sanitation, although sometimes it refers to privatization and sale of water resources themselves . As water services are seen as such a key public service, water privatization is often...
- CottonCottonCotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
- IrrigationIrrigationIrrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
- IncentiveIncentiveIn economics and sociology, an incentive is any factor that enables or motivates a particular course of action, or counts as a reason for preferring one choice to the alternatives. It is an expectation that encourages people to behave in a certain way...
- ExternalityExternalityIn economics, an externality is a cost or benefit, not transmitted through prices, incurred by a party who did not agree to the action causing the cost or benefit...
- Soviet UnionSoviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
- UNESCOUNESCOThe United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
- Central AsiaCentral AsiaCentral Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
- Karakalpakstan
- UzbekistanUzbekistanUzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
- KazakhstanKazakhstanKazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
External links
- Official site of the documentary film Delta Blues
- Trailer of the documentary film Delta Blues
- UNESCO's Water-related vision for the Aral Sea basin for the year 2025, as presented in March 2000 at the 2nd World Water ForumWorld Water ForumEvery three years the World Water Council organizes a World Water Forum in close collaboration with the authorities of the host country. The World Water Forum is the largest international event in the field of water—over 30,000 participants from more than 190 countries attended the last...
in The Hague - Article on UNESCO's Water Related Vision for the Aral Sea Basin