P 2

One of the countries that suffers water shortage is Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia, with a total area of 447 400 km².It became independent from the Soviet Union in August 1991. We can divide Uzbekistan in to an area of three zones, desert which covers 60% of the country, fertile valleys and mountains in the east. As a result of sand covers a big part of the country, and this reduces the available water sources and that is one of the causes of water shortage. The total population is estimated at 23.2 million (1996), of which about 58% is rural. The average population density is about 52 inhabitants/km², which is the highest of the five Central Asian republics. This level of population density has increased the rate of consumption and this poses a threat to water levels in the country. The fall of the Soviet Union is a major factor in the emergence of the water problem in Uzbekistan, the upper countries in Asia Minor established dams to generate hydroelectric power and this led to the pollution of a large proportion of the water because of the torpedoes. Uzbekistan is famous for the export of cotton; they try to keep that at maximum by using too much chemical fertilizers. This caused contaminate the groundwater, and so one of the important source of the natural sources.