The Aral Sea

1. The Aral Sea

2. Problem • Irrigation system set up in 1950’s by Soviet Officials, which diverts 95% of The Aral Sea’s inflow. • By 1960, the area of The Aral Sea had declined 50 %. • Likewise, the volume had decreased by 80% • Biodiversity declined, all 24 species of fish are gone.

3. Resulting Issues • About 35 million people live in the surrounding area and many of them have developed health problems. (Ex: Tuberculosis to severe anemia, kidney disease, and various cancers.) • Death rate from respiratory illnesses are among the highest in the world. • Toxic salt storms

4. History • The Aral Sea is an inland body of water that does not contain an outlet. • It is fed by two rivers- The Amu Darya, and Syr Darya. • In the early 1960’s the Soviet government chose to make it’s land independent in cotton and rice making; taking water from the Aral Seas only sources- Amu Darya and Syr Darya. • The Aral Sea is now suffering from a severe drop in water level, receding shoreline, and dramatic increase in salt quantity.

5. Solution • The only effective way to fix the Aral Sea problem and restore it to its original size would be to severely limit the amount of irrigation from this body of water. • However, the economies of the countries of the surrounding area heavily depend on the irrigation.

6. Future • Since the economies of the countries which surround The Aral Sea depend heavily on the irrigation, they are likely to put off the enactment of a solution. • Similar to the current issue of global warming, many people are living in the moment and express little to no concern about this problem because it may not affect them directly.