The Aral Sea

The Soviet Union implemented a huge irrigation project in the 1960s to divert water from the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers to irrigate farms and crops in what is now Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan (Hannan 213). These are the only two rivers that feed the Aral Sea, a terminal saline lake. The diversion and irrigation of these rivers has reduced the sea’s water level and volume by 79%, exposing salty dry bottom and splitting the sea in two, causing a slew of difficulties on land, groundwater, and the economy, and health of the people in the region (Tanton and Heaven 365).

Causes of the Desiccation

The Aral Sea remains one of the most prominent man-made environmental disasters of all time. Once the fourth-largest natural lake in the entire world, the sea, which is situated in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, is a shell of its former self, spotting rusting ships and is regularly afflicted by vicious and chocking dessert dust storms. The thriving settlements around it have been long abandoned with residents fleeing the increasing toxicity presented by the increasing salinity of a dying lake. The Aral Sea was a self-sustaining aquatic ecosystem until 1940 when the Soviet government developed a series of cotton farming irrigation schemes along its tributaries (Tanton and Heaven 365). Though initially well intentioned, the project was slowly mismanaged that by the 1960s, much of water was being diverted from the lake’s estuaries, prompting it to begin to shrink. The cotton farms expanded production leading to more water bypassing the lake, prompting it to shrink significantly and increase in salinity (Indoitu 101). As at 2007, the area covered by the lake was about 10% of the Aral’s original size.

History and Statistics of the Desiccation

A key implication of the desiccation of the Aral Sea was the unearthing of the island of Vozrozhdeniya. The island was tucked deep inside the lake and formed a discrete open-air bio-warfare testing facility. In the 1950s, the Soviets utilized Vozrozhdeniya as a storage facility for highly infectious communicable diseases such as smallpox, bubonic plague, and anthrax spores. The diseases, anthrax especially, have extended lifespans and extremely high mortality rates (92%), making the island on of the deadliest places on the planet (Hannan 214). Though, many of its facilities would be decontaminated by a joint Uzbek-U.S taskforce, the area has not been completely rid of anthrax and continuous to infect scores of people who visit it. Spores of anthrax found in the island were extremely lethal and exposure to them meant almost certain death. Undiscerning visitors would be infected with a multitude of disease with no access to known cures. Much of the lake remains desolate with the basin being virtually an aquatic graveyard.

Scope of Problem: Effects of Desiccation

The lake that was once about half the size of Iceland and a huge water body in a mostly desert area. It was a fresh water lake and is now twice as salty as an average ocean and unable to sustain any reasonable plant and animal life, providing a sixth of the Soviet’s seafood. As Waltham and Sholji (218) explains, the desiccation of the lake occurred so fast that boat owners had no time to relocate their crafts. Due to its vast expanse, the lake created a coastal microclimate. It determined weather patterns that mostly included convectional rainfall and gentle prevailing winds. The relatively arid area was moderate in a general sense of coolness being witnessed as a consequence of the Aral’s convectional currents. Today, all that is left are thousands of square-miles of hot dessert. Due to limited cloud cover, the region experiences exceedingly high temperatures during the day and low ones at night (Tanton and Heaven 365). It enjoys consistent insolation leading to further evaporation of the remaining salty water.

The canals were poorly built, frequently leaked, and had insufficiently inept management. Some had sandy bases, hence, were often frequently drained. As Waltham and Sholji (281) explain, the largest scheme, the Karakum Canal lost 60% of its water to underground seepage. The Soviets understood the potentially harmful impact of their actions yet still operated with reckless abandon. Sources indicate that the site manufactures frequently commented that if the land dried it would only offer up more land to plant cotton. The consequences of their actions would have devastating effects for generations and are painfully more pronounced today.

The area’s vibrant economic and social scene that was sponsored by a lucrative fishing industry is now marked by exposed lake beds with industrial chemical runoffs, and highly concentrated salts. These substances frequently mix with gusty winds which then spread to the area around the causing lung disease, cancer, and tuberculosis to the tens of thousands of persons living nearby. The cultivation of cotton in the region has had massive adverse impacts over the years being the primary cause of the desiccation of the lake. Farmers employed toxic pesticides to control diseases and parasites that frequently attacked the cotton.

As the canals were perennially waterlogged and many of the pesticides used, insoluble, the chemicals would be washed down and deposited in the lack. They have unbelievably long half-lives, hence, are not broken down (Hannan 214). With time, they are compounded and form huge deposits of toxicity and slowly eliminate plant and animal life. Pesticides are as devastating to human life as they are to the parasites to which they are intended (Small, Van der Meer and Upshu 547). As such, they present several health complication should they enter the body either through ingestion or inhalation. The drying of the lake unearthed decades of chemical sediments which settled at the bottom of the sea. The surrounding area was predominantly dry. Therefore, upon the lake’s desiccation, the area became a total desert. It was prone to blizzards which would scoop and displace the sand hundreds of kilometers away (Tanton and Heaven 365). The highly poisonous chemical components were carried along and deposited in areas where people lived resulting in profound suffering. As a consequence of widespread infections, the area underwent a huge health crisis.

There is growing concern that the two main sources of the lake, the Amu Darya and Syr Darya, may soon become season and dry up. The rivers flow from the Tian-Shan ranges about 800 kilometers away. With increasingly hot temperatures, experts fear that the river sources may dry up. As they are the largest source of fresh water in the region, it is feared that close 40 million will lack fresh water for commercial and subsistence used. They will suffer from extreme hunger and famine, as there will be no food or means to create it.

Resolutions

Regretting the seemingly irreversible impacts of people’s former mistakes, the government of Kazakhstan partner with the World Bank to construct a dam on the south side of what was once the Aral Sea. Eight months after its completion, the dam became a massive success. Its area grew by about 18% with water levels rising by an impressive eight feet (Hannan 215). Additionally, the salinity of the lake reduced by half. That level of accomplishment was unprecedented. Dubbed the Small Aral, the new lake begun to attract fish which soon came in abundance. As Waltham and Sholji (219) observe, the area is slowly coming back to life. They explain that the rehabilitation of the dam may be a far cry from restoring the Aral Sea, but is at least, an indication that it can be achieved.

Concerted efforts by the larger Kazakhstan public and government alongside non-state actors such as the World Bank has spelled good tidings for the recovery of the Aral Sea. The Small Aral exists to indicate the colossal power of the resolve of a people to reclaim what was once lost. It shows that man’s reckless behavior can have devastating effects but are which are also non-permanent and can be undone through immense dedication (Tanton and Heaven 365). While the project remains just a small portion of the sea, much of the land lost to dereliction can be reclaimed and restored before the window for achieving this closes permanently.

Currently, the outlook for the lake is bleak. There is no new or sustained efforts to rehabilitate the lack. The general understanding is that the area is far too environmentally destroyed to be considered for reconstruction. While the process that led to the sea’s unfortunate state is regrettable, the huge investment and dedication required to return the place to its former glory is painfully conspicuously missing. No projects have since been initiated to make the area more habitable or to desalinize the lack. The region remains in dire need of human intervention with no efforts seemingly being made to make things better. Even worse, the area near the rivers is still under cultivation. Local farmers are oblivious or willfully ignorant of their immense contribution to the problem and continue to divert the little fresh water left into their farms.

For any real progress to be made in restoring the Aral Sea, traditional underlying causative factors have to be extensively explored and resolved. The local population has to understand there are at the forefront of the reclamation process, hence, should be actively involved. They would be required to relinquish their farmlands and be relocation to locations less impactful to the lake’s well-being and existence. They will also have to desist from agricultural practices that directly threaten sources of water to the Aral Sea. Such a project would have to be spearheaded by the national governments (Tanton and Heaven 365). They are likely to encounter resistance from the local who will be abundantly reluctant to abandon their sources of livelihood and ancestral land to set camp elsewhere, even if they are to be compensated. Additionally, the government is likely to face indifference from the general public who would feel that the project is a waste of public funds as it may never come to fruition due to the insurmountable input that would be needed to restore the lake to its former stature.

Works Cited

Hannan, Tim. “A Solution to the Aral Sea Crisis? Sustainable Water Use in Central Asia.” Water and Environment Journal, no. 14, 2000, pp. 213-218.

Indoitu, R. “Dust Emission and Environmental Changes in the Dried Bottom of the Aral Sea.” Aeolian Research, no.17, 2015, pp. 101-115.

Small, Ian, J. Van der Meer, and R. E. Upshur. “Acting on an Environmental Health Disaster: the Case of the Aral Sea.” Environmental Health Perspectives, no. 109, 2001, p. 547.

Tanton, Trevor W., and Sonia Heaven. “Worsening of the Aral Basin Crisis: Can There Be a Solution?” Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management no. 125, 1999, pp. 363-368.

Waltham, Tony, and Ihsan Sholji. “The Demise of the Aral Sea–an Environmental Disaster.” Geology Today, no. 17, 2001, pp. 218-228.