ALLI SHEARIN Restoration of the Aral Sea: A Call to Uzbekistan for Help

The Issue The Aral Sea was once the 4 th largest lake in the world In the 1960s, Soviet-era irrigation projects began to divert the water from the two rivers that flow into it, the Syr Dar’ya and the Amu Dar’ya (article) With less water flowing from the rivers, the Aral Sea has shrunk and salinized  Separated into two smaller water bodies: a “Small” Aral Sea in the north and a “Large” Aral Sea in the south  Now, the area of both seas taken together diminished by 74% and the volume by 90%

The Aral Sea Catastrophe

Negative Effects Fisheries lost: loss of fishing industry and thousands of jobs that went with it Ecosystems ruined: loss of vegetation, endangered species Animal husbandry: desertification, damage vegetation, damage livestock Salt/dust plumes: storms  kills plants, animals Human illness: respiratory illnesses, eye problems Climate changed: from maritime  continental, desertic, shorter growing seasons Vozrozhdeniya: Resurrection Island

What we need from Uzbekistan… Restoration efforts are taking place by Kazakhstan for the North Aral Sea to rebuild irrigation systems to raise their efficiency to deliver more water to the Aral Sea Full restoration requires cooperation from Uzbekistan: no interest in restoring the Aral Sea and conserve water, bc they want to use water for cotton irrigation What Uzbekistan must do:  Help Kazakhstan in restoration efforts  Stop irrigation to point of depletion  Irrigation=inefficient: technical, economic, & institutional improvements to save water  Convert more of irrigated area to less water intensive crops  Sub. Grains, soybeans, fruits, and vegs for cotton and rice  Money saved can be used on food needs Full restoration is doubtful, but partial rehabilitation can hold considerable promise for improvement of fisheries and ecosystems Finding funding is an issue, but if Uzbekistan would cooperate with Kazakhstan in the restoration project, international funders will see more promise for the project’s success, and may be likely to give more funding