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Which rivers supplied irrigation water to Central Asia during the Soviet era?

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Yser River; land reclamation — land reclamation The Yser River flowing through reclaimed farmland in Belgium.

During the Soviet era, the principal rivers used to supply irrigation water to Central Asia were the Syr Darya and the Amu Darya.12

Beginning in the 1950s, the Soviet government diverted massive amounts of water from these rivers to irrigate crops, particularly cotton, in the region's lower basins. A notable infrastructure project from this period is the Karakum Canal, which was constructed to carry water from the Amu Darya across the desert to support agricultural development.34

These rivers historically discharged into the Aral Sea. The large-scale diversion of their waters for irrigation caused a catastrophic ecological decline, as the reduced inflow led to the dramatic shrinking of the Aral Sea and severe environmental degradation throughout the region.123