In the early 1960s, the soviet central government decided to make the ussr selfsufficient in cotton and rice. The aral sea management experience and lessons learned. The basin is formed by two of the largest rivers of central asia the amu darya and the syr darya. The aral sea basin includes the syr darya and amu darya, the tedzhen. Large aral sea to the south and a small aral sea in the north in 1987. We prove that the optimal approach is the most rapid approach path the mrap. Public health problems in the aral sea region wikipedia. These environmental impacts have had wideranging effects on health of local residents. Start a free trial of quizlet plus by thanksgiving lock in 50% off all year try it free. The two rivers that feed it are the amu darya and syr darya rivers, respectively reaching the sea. The aral sea, which was once a unique, beautiful and one of the largest closed water reservoirs in the world, is practically on the verge of complete disappearance and turned into an unprecedented disaster and irreparable damage to the life of the population living there, the ecosystem and biodiversity of the aral sea. The aral sea is a large continental water body in central asia bordering on kazakhstan, uzbekistan and turkmenistan. Pdf nature and economy in the aral sea basin researchgate.
The aral sea is located between kazakhstan and uzbekistan and was once the fourth largest lake in the world. Consequently, the aral sea separated into two parts. The aral used to be the fourth largest inland sea in the world, but the soviets siphoned off the waters that feed it to irrigate the vast cotton fields of central asia. However, localised conflicts between minorities and respective governments have. The aral sea basin includes uzbekistan, tajikstan, and parts of kazakstan, kyrgystan, and turkmenistan. The aral sea is the biggest saline lake in central asia. Analysis of the dynamics of the aral sea basin and desertification of the surrounding areas leads to a depressing forecast of the complete disappearance of the sea by 2010. This is not just an international transboundary problem, but. Around 35 million individuals live near the aral sea. Over the last decades, diversion of rivers for irrigation has reduced its size by 60% and its volume by 80%, deeply affecting the local fishing industry and. Aral sea recovers, dead seas still in trouble cbs news.
Around the southern edge of the aral sea is the karakalpakstan republic, an. The uzbek government needs to hurry if they want to preserve at least some of the sea, mr musambaev said. Shrinking of the aral sea timeline timetoast timelines. These rivers were heavily used for irrigation fields after 1960 because of soviet union plans. The aral sea has receded from the soviet unions exploitation of its water through irrigation systems for cotton fields. But even though they have caused an ecological disaster, actions are now being taken to replenish the sea of its thirst and recover it back to its natural beauty. The aral is an inland saltwater sea with no outlet.
The conflict over water has been nonviolent and mostly diplomatic. It was fed by two rivers that flowed down from the himalayas it sustained a vibrant fishing industry. History and analysis of water loss in the aral sea by justin abel, daniel ocrowley, and logan sleezer es 771. Soviet authorities forced individual farms to combine into. The key challenge is that states prioritise their individual economic and. We calibrate the model and calculate the optimal volume and diversion rate. Water levels then fluctuated annually between 2009 and 2018 in alternately dry and wet years. Short essay on the aral sea crisis jessies high horse. Environmental degradation of the aral sea in central asia has caused a loss of livelihoods and led to resource competition over water amongst the states sharing the basin, especially kazakhstan, kyrgyzstan, tajikistan, turkmenistan, and uzbekistan. As the sea dries up the contaminants become exposed on the surface and enter into the soil while also being blown into the air. The aral sea going, going, gone a comparison of the aral sea in 1989 left and 2014 right. The aral sea in 1960 was a huge brackish water lake 4th in the world in surface area lying amidst the deserts of central asia.
Conflict summary environmental degradation of the aral sea in central asia has caused a. The aral sea extends over 690,000km2 kirmani and lemoigne, 1997. Reduced mechanization of agricultural production may have increased manual labor. The optimization problem has a unique, optimal, steadystate. Pdf the thesis of this article is quite different from many other theses of papers, books, and. Tajikistan and kyrgyzstan signed a treaty to pledge 1% of their budget to help the aral sea recover from loss of water, the aral sea had gone down so much that,other states had to join together and add some budget to add water to the sea.
As a socioecological crisis, the aral seas recession has demonstrated interrelationships between humans and the biophysical environment. Recently kazakhstans news agency kazinform reported that the level of the aral sea rose by several percent during the last 12 months, thus reducing the devastating impact of the salt and various chemical pollutants from the drying seabed, which are carried by the wind for thousands of square miles across the entire region. The aral sea transboundary river basin food and agriculture. In kazakhstan, the dam has allowed the river to feed the northern aral and as a result the. The aral sea transboundary river basin geography, climate and population geography the aral sea basin, total area 1.
The aral sea is bordered by kazakhstan to the north and uzbekistan to the south. There are many ways that people have thought of that can fix the problem however, most of them are too expensive for the poor countries that surround the. The aral separated into two water bodies in 198789. The aral sea is disappearing even faster than previously thought, with a new study of the southern part of the sea slashing its life expectancy by decades. Sea issue and numerous trips to the aral sea region.
Ifas were merged into a newly structured ifasinternational. The aral sea the aral sea was once the 5th largest lake on earth. The country that brought a sea back to life bbc future. Kazakhstan, kyrgyzstan, tajikistan, turkmenistan, and. Aral sea basin program world bank documents world bank group. The sea supported a major fishery and functioned as a key regional. Have students research the current size of the aral sea and the great lakes and compare their values with those stated in these lessons. With the collapse of the soviet union, the return to. For the last decades the problem of aral doesnt come off the pages of mass. Situated in the centre of the central asian deserts at an altitude of 53 metres above the sea level, the aral sea functions as a gigantic evaporator. The eastern part of the large aral sea almost completely dried out this year. The health conditions of five million people living in the environmentally degraded. Geographically it covers an extensive area of central asia, most of tajikistan.
Abstract desiccation of the aral sea is one of the worlds most serious ecosystem catastrophes. The uzbek side of the aral sea has turned to desert credit. Disappearance of the aral sea world resources institute. Combining these impact factors produced a new river impact ri index to assess the. The amu darya and syr darya rivers flow into the aral sea. Once one of the worlds largest lakes, the aral sea in the former soviet union is now the site of one of the worlds greatest ecological disasters. The aral sea basin at best the level remairied constant during the first half of the year, while in the second half it fell sharply. Problems of the aral sea and water resources of central. Beginning in the 1960s, agricultural demands have deprived this large central asian salt lake of enough water to sustain itself, and it. Hemispheres the international outreach consortium at the university of texas at.
The project addresses those issues of the aral sea basin which have. This book gives a brief description of the aral sea till 1960 when the sea started dying out. Since 1960, the aral has undergone rapid desiccation and salinization. Kostianoy believes this part will totally disappear within the next few months, leaving two distinct bodies of water.
Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. At one point in history the aral sea was a thriving salt lake in the middle east and is now about threequarters the size of what it once was. Agreement on joint activities in addressing the aral sea and the zone around the sea crisis, improving the environment, and enduring the social and economic development of the aral sea region republic of kazakhstan, republic of kyrgyzstan, republic of tajikistan, tuskmenistan, and republic of uzbekistan, hereinafter referred to as states. The source of the amu darya is largely in tajikistan, with a few watercoursesoriginatingin northeasternafghanistan. The aral sea is situated in the center of the central asian great deserts karakum, kyzylkum, and betpakdala and the area as a whole experiences high rates of evaporation. Looking at how the aral sea has changed over time and how this is having an impact upon people and the environment. Between 1960 and january 2006, the level of the small aral fell by m. As a result, the aral sea shrank by almost half, leaving a toxic wasteland that has blighted the land and its people. Especially large retreats in the eastern lobe of the south aral sea appear to have occurred between 2005 and 2009, when drought limited and then cut off the flow of the amu darya. The four basic problems in water and environmental management of the basin were. The dramatic recession of the aral sea witnessed over the past 30 yr has brought the worlds attention to the environmental crisis in this extensive and important body of water. To date, much effort has been put into restoring the vital water resource on the kazakhstan portion of the sea. It is divided into two parts, the northern, shallow small aral and the southern, deeper large aral.
The current study estimated the evaporation and precipitation. Conflict over water in the aral sea ecc platform library. Naturesociety linkages in the aral sea region sciencedirect. Soviet union cotton fields starting in the 1940s, the soviet union decided that it.
The name roughly translates as sea of islands, referring to over 1,100 islands that had dotted its waters. Pdf solar water desalination in the aral sea region. Water, sanitation, hygiene and diarrheal diseases in the aral sea. The aral sea is the largest inland body of salty reservoirs in the world. Following a heads of state meeting in february 1997, icas and ifas were merged into a newly. The destruction of the aral sea ecosystem has been sudden and severe. Up until the third quarter of the 20th century it was the world.
Click here to view chronological map or aral sea 19572007. The sea supported a major fishery and functioned as a key regional transportation route. This work is in the public domain, cc0 the aral sea is a lake located east of the caspian sea between uzbekistan and kazakhstan in central asia. Once the worlds fourth largest lake, the aral sea supported thriving fishing and fur harvesting industries. Due to such malpractices the aral sea shrunk in size from being the worlds 4th largest sea to a dry barren sea basin. This turnaround has a substantial positive impact on the. Bbc news asiapacific dam project aims to save aral sea. The aral sea problem has long been troubling figure 2. The aral sea crisis has received ample scholarly attention, though somewhat surprising is a.
Interstate council on the problems of the aral sea basin. Frederick copied with permission from resources 102 winter 1991. The aral sea is situated in central asia, between the southern part of kazakhstan and northern uzbekistan. But he added, that was no longer kazakhstans problem. For the first time it presents the chronology of studying, development and attempts of conservation and rehabilitation of the aral sea.
Aral sea and its tributaries, notably the syr darya and the amu darya figure 1 and table 1. Numerous agreements between 1992 and 2002 among various riparian states. Pdf the thesis of this article is quite different from many other theses of papers, books. Bringing back the aral sea exploring the environment. In 2014, the eastern lobe of the south aral sea completely disappeared. Darya after the merge of vakhsh rivers, assembling waters of. The south aral sea, which consist of a strip of water in the west and a driedout basin in the east, sits in uzbekistan. Other fish species were introduced in the 90s and there was also an attempt to introduce water to compensate salinity, but the efforts were in vain thompson, 2008. The aral seas size and water balance are fundamentally determined by river in. National geographic lesson what happened to the aral sea.
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