LOCATED IN CENTRAL Asia, Turkmenistan is a country primarily made of desert. It lies between 35 degrees 08 minutes and 42 degrees 48 minutes N and between 52 degrees 27 minutes and 66 degrees 41 minutes E, north of the Kopet-Dag mountains, between the Caspian Sea to the west and the Amu-Darya River to the east. Turkmenistan covers 188,455 sq. mi. (488,096 sq. Ion.) and had a population of 5,097,028 in 2007.

Despite its extensive oil and gas resources, Turkmenistan remains a poor, predominantly rural country, with the majority of the population relying on intensive agriculture in irrigated oases, and it is extremely vulnerable to climate change.

Turkmenistan has a distinctive continental climate, with an average annual air temperature ranging from 54–62 degrees F (12–17 degrees ...