evidence: In many respects, these events are typical of border conflicts in the Fergana Valley, a fertile plain covering 22,000 square kilometres, surrounded by high mountains, and, since the Soviet era, divided between Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. However, water is no respecter of borders and the distribution of this precious elixir is a conflict factor throughout the Fergana Valley. Growing water scarcity has exacerbated the situation in recent years. Other conflict factors are access to grazing and farmland and any form of use of (as yet) undefined sections of border by one side, whether to plant fruit trees or build a hayloft. The disputed water facility is located in one such contested area between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. As in many other cases, the border here was redrawn multiple times during the Soviet era and today, the two sides are at loggerheads over which borderline should serve as the basis for delimitation. This step, in which the borders are marked on paper, comes before demarcation, namely the practical action taken to provide visible evidence of the border on the ground.