Ecological, Political, and Social Impacts of Climate Change in the Large Water Basins of Central Asia

Central Asia is a term that defines a very large region including Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, North-West China, and Mongolia, known as the Land of Turks. The water needs of the population within the borders of Central Asia are met by more than 6000 lakes of various sizes and rivers pouring into these lakes. Climate change, which has been heavily felt in the region in the last 50 years, negatively affects water resources and human life in large lake basins. In this study, how the water resources in the large lake basins in Central Asia, especially in the Aral and Balkhash basins, are affected by climate change and how the climate change scenarios will develop were investigated. In addition, conflicts caused by the use and sharing of water between the countries have been identified, and the effects of these conflicts on social life, especially migration, have been discussed.