The aral sea is located in the heart of central asia, roughly 200 miles 320 kilometers east of the caspian sea. An inland sea lying between southern kazakhstan and northwest uzbekistan. The shrinking aral sea has had both positive and negative physical and human consequences. The aral sea is bordered by kazakhstan to the north and uzbekistan to the south. In 2009 in kazakhstan, a group of fishermen met on a sunday afternoon. Water use in the aral sea basin water usage, primarily for drinking and irrigation, started more than 6,000 years ago. At the conclusion of the readingquestions, students are asked to complete a writing prompt that summarizes the reading using cause and effect and evidence from the text.
The aral sea use to be the forthlargest saline sea in the world, that is until in the 1960s. Restoring life to the aral seas dead zone bbc news. The country that brought a sea back to life bbc future. The aral sea transboundary river basin geography, climate and population geography the aral sea basin, total area 1. By 2007, it had declined to 10% of its original size, splitting into four lakes the north aral sea, the eastern and western basins of the once far larger south aral sea one smaller lake between the north and south aral seas. Aral sea synonyms, aral sea pronunciation, aral sea translation, english dictionary definition of aral sea. For one, the collapse of the soviet union introduced a new era in international relations accompanied by several opportunities for cooperation over transboundary water.
In this engaging minilesson, students click on a link to read about the shrinking aral sea and answer questions. Health and ecological consequences of the aral sea crisis. The aral sea, despite being the 4th largest lake in the world up to 1960, has now split into six separate water bodies. In muynak, another former fishing town, residents are looking for any opportunity to leave. The north aral sea sometimes called the small aral sea had separated from the south large aral sea. In april 2009, in almaty, it was decided to develop the next action program to assist countries in the aral sea basin for the period 2011 2015 asbp 3.
The aral sea crisis in central asia is one of the biggest man made. The aral separated into two water bodies in 198789. The karakalpak center for reproductive health and environment, uzbekistan. The project addresses those issues of the aral sea basin which have. The proposed paper intends to discuss the aral sea environmental crisis in central asia and its impact on human health. Pdf the proposed paper intends to discuss the aral sea. That collapse led to an intricate environmental problem, and the countries of the basin are. Between 1960 and january 2006, the level of the small aral fell by m and the large aral fell by 23 m. The aral sea is situated in central asia, between the southern part of kazakhstan and northern uzbekistan. The former soviet union diverted the two rivers that fed the aral sea, to make water available to the surrounding cotton fields and other crop farming regions in the desert like area.
Creeping environmental problems and s development aral. This spot was once the tip of a peninsula jutting into the aral sea, which up until the 1960s was the worlds fourth largest inland body of water, covering some 26,000 square milesan area. By 2001, the southern connection had been severed, and the shallower eastern part retreated rapidly over the next several years. The aral sea crisis is the most prominent environmental problem in building silk. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. The aral sea is the largest inland body of salty reservoirs in the world. The year 1992 marks two distinct but likewise related events in the history of transboundary water. Lessons on cooperation building to manage water conflicts in the. How a disappearing sea became a towns main attraction. Areal sea basin and the water crisis in the then soviet. The aral sea began to quickly shrink because of the evaporation of its now unreplenished waters.
Click download or read online button to get aral sea book now. Aral sea definition of aral sea by the free dictionary. Currently, over 70% of the irrigated land in karakalpakstan is affected by salinity, and problems are worsening. Water use efficiency of irrigated cotton in uzbekistan under drip and furrow. Exploreradventurer george kourounis visits the aral sea in western uzbekistan where wasteful irrigation practices by the former soviet union. Withdrawal of water from the amu darya and syr darya, primarily for irrigation, is the most important factor reducing water flows into the aral sea. Pdf the aral sea in 1960 was a huge brackish water lake 4th in the world. The two rivers that feed it are the amu darya and syr. Geographically it covers an extensive area of central asia, most of tajikistan. By 2009, the southeastern lake had disappeared and the southwestern lake had retreated to a thin strip at the. The aral is bordered by kazakhstan on the north and uzbekistan on the south.
Interstate council on the problems of the aral sea basin. Thanks to this project, the water surface of the aral sea in kazakhstan has expanded and the freshwater fish catch has grown more than six times since. The aral sea has been slowly disappearing ever since. It is not dying, but transforming in accordance with water availability and its salinity igor s. Regression of the sea corresponds with episodes of climatic drying and water extraction boomer et al. Once nearly barren, the aral sea now hosts 15 different types of fish, according to the fishermen of tastubek, and income has risen dramatically. It was once the fourth largest body of inland water in the world, with an area of about 26,300 square. The south aral sea had split into eastern and western lobes that remained tenuously connected at both ends. One of the largest global environmental disasters in the recent history which is being experienced by countries and the population of 62 million people in central asia, is the tragedy of the aral sea that in its environmental, climatic, socioeconomic and humanitarian consequences poses direct threat to the regions sustainable development, health, gene pool and future of the.
An overview of recent changes in salinity in the surface waters of the aral sea basin is given. Around the southern edge of the aral sea is the karakalpakstan republic, an. The aral sea crisis differs from other major environmental disasters like the. This breakup and desiccation resulted overwhelmingly from upstream irrigation withdrawals from the two main influent rivers, the syr darya and the amu darya. Looking at how the aral sea has changed over time and how this is having an impact upon people and the environment. Kazakhstan is involved in recovery of the aral sea. An argon reconnaissance satellite acquired this image of the aral sea on august 22, 1964, before the drop in water levels altered the shoreline and devastated surrounding communities. Transformation of aquatic animal biodiversity in the aral sea.
Pdf 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. The name roughly translates as sea of islands, referring to over 1,100 islands that had dotted its waters. Statesparticipants agreed to draft a joint conception of addressing the aral sea crisis and rehabilitating the environment in the area around the sea, and to draw up a coordinated program on the scientific research and activities, and also to create a common information system of monitoring the environment and to organize issuance of the. These images show the decline over the past decade and perhaps even small signs of. The breakup of the soviet union brought great hopes that the successor states would embark on a path toward building free market democracies.
The aral sea is located amid the great deserts of central asia figure 1. Once the fourthlargest inland body of water in the world, it has largely. They say they are suffering health problems from dust storms. The five states of central asia first established the international fund for saving the aral sea, or ifas, 25 years ago, though they refuse to cooperate on key. Water resources two main rivers cross the aral sea basin from the. Check if you have access via personal or institutional login. There was little diversity in the free living invertebrate fauna of the aral sea.
The aral sea management experience and lessons learned. Up until the third quarter of the 20th century it was the world. Over the past 50 years the aral sea has been devastated by massive irrigation projects. Creeping environmental problems and sustainable development in the aral sea basin. Already agricultural output has declined by 3050% due to soil. The aral sea basin includes uzbekistan, tajikstan, and parts of kazakstan, kyrgystan, and turkmenistan.
They also complain that their government is doing nothing to reverse the disaster. Started filling up 140,000 yrs ago, during the pleistocene epoch when the syr danya river began flowing in it. The study on ecoenvironmental issue of aral sea from the. Aral sea ecosystem into hypersaline lakes and desert fig. The transfer of water from siberian rivers to the aral sea basin was discussed as one possible solution of the water crisis in central asia 7,8,11,12. However, a project to salvage its northern part appears to have succeeded as commercial fishing is once again viable in.
The aral sea is bringing new wealth to fishing villages in kazakhstan. Climate and the human activity in the catchment of the aral sea influence its hydrological. Afterwards, they told stories and sang songs about the aral sea and fishing. Five decades ago, the aral sea was the fourth largest lake in. Among the environmental problems of the entire aral sea basin caused by largescale irrigation, the increasing salinization of irrigated land and water is the biggest one. The aral sea, once the worlds fourth biggest lake, is most likely gone forever, its death having brought about decades of environmental disaster. Total dissolved salts salinity in most waters are higher than admissible values for drinking water, and ionic composition has changed with time. The aral sea crisis in central asia is one of the biggest man made human. Approximately 10,000 years ago, at the beginning of the holocene, the aral sea attained its great size when the amu darya river start flowing into it. 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. Hydrological model for sustainable development in the aral sea. In the 20th century, and especially since 1960, the intensity of water use increased under the pressures. Image caption the town of moynaq was once uzbekistans main fishing port on the aral sea the loss of the aral sea in central asia is an ecological disaster. Aral sea basin program world bank documents world bank group.
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