Central Asia has been one of the world's most important cotton producers since the 1950s. Cotton production has not only contributed significantly to the increasing scarcity of water resources in the region, but also caused large-scale secondary salinisation of farmland. In light of declining and more seasonally available water supplies – a consequence of climate change – coupled with widespread degradation of agricultural land, Central Asia's area under cotton cultivation has decreased by more than half since 2007, the trend continuously declining. The region's governments have recognised the problem and are supporting the search for alternative land management options that allow for crop production on degraded farmland as well as for less polluting raw materials that can supply regional industries.