Abstract
A UK-based Canadian water engineer and a British geographer, relying upon extensive field work, interviews, and a review of official state documents, outline problems entailed in the operation and maintenance of Turkmenistan's Kara Kum Canal, the world's largest irrigation canal. Prominent among these are the physical properties of the channel bed itself; the primitive state of monitoring and communication of information regarding flow levels; the priority of hydraulic considerations over user needs in decisions concerning canal operation; conflicts between agricultural, municipal, and navigational uses; limited accessibility; and high sediment loads. A concluding section surveys prospects for future operation given the shortage of funds for even basic maintenance. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: O13, Q15, Q25. 1 figure, 19 references.
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