Water Stories
Introduction
collection of “Water Stories” begins with the journey of
a group of journalists along one of the most important
rivers in the region – the Syr Darya – to learn how people live in the different countries and different sections
of the river, the difficulties they face, and how they overcome them.
There follows a series of reports, interviews, and analytical articles on diverse aspects of Central Asia’s water
question – from access to clean drinking water to the
use of international assistance programs in the region,
and from new water-saving technology to the scientific
study of the region’s melting glaciers.
The authors include two German journalists with extensive experience of living and working in Central Asia.
Each article is followed by a brief text about the author in
the form of a questionnaire, to introduce readers to the
journalists who took part in the project.
We hope these articles and photographs will help you
to discover Central Asia, the processes of transformation underway there, and the complex question of its relationship with water – one of the most important issues
both for this region and the whole world – through real
people: the characters in the stories, the writers, and the
photographers. Happy reading!
Angelina Davydova, project leader
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