Māris kļaviņŠ, azamat azizov, JĀnis zaļoksnis environment, pollution, development: the case of uzbekistan

Figure 3.12. 
Ship of the 
Aral Sea fleet  
(Photo Staecker – 
Own work )
Figure 3.13. 
Aralsk 
harbor  
(Photo Staecker – 
Own work)

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40 
ENVIRONMENT, POLLUTION, DEVELOPMENT:  THE CASE OF UZBEKISTAN
Sy
r-Daria
Am
u-Daria
1960
Amu
-Daria
2001
Fishing zone
Fish exports
Cotton and
rice exports
Cotton and rice,
widely irrigated
Dam
Dry zone and unusable
areas (salination)
Food crops, partly irrigated
Fish imports
Aralsk
Kzyl-Orda
Nukus
TURKMENISTAN
UZBEKISTAN
KAZAKHSTAN
Tashkent
Bukhara
Aralsk
Kzyl-Orda
Nukus
TURKMENISTAN
UZBEKISTAN
KAZAKHSTAN
Tashkent
Bukhara
Aral
sea
Global warming that has already occurred has only aggravated 
the complex ecological situation in this region. The ecosystems 
of  the  Aral  Sea  and  the  river  deltas  feeding  into  it  have  been 
nearly destroyed, not least because of the much higher salinity. 
The receding sea has left huge plains covered with salt and toxic 
chemicals – the results of weapons testing, industrial projects, and 
pesticides  and  fertilizer  runoff  –  which  are  picked  up  and  carried 
away by the wind as toxic dust and spread to the surrounding area. 
The  land  around  the  Aral  Sea  is  heavily  polluted,  and  the  people 
living in the area are suffering from a lack of fresh water and health 
problems, including high rates of certain forms of cancer and lung 
diseases. Respiratory illnesses, including tuberculosis (most of 
which is drug resistant) and cancer, digestive disorders, anaemia, 
and infectious diseases are common ailments in the region. Liver, 
kidney, and eye problems can also be attributed to the toxic dust 
storms. Health concerns associated with the region are a cause for 
an unusually high fatality rate amongst vulnerable parts of the 
population. The child mortality rate is 75 in every 1000 newborns 
and maternity death is 12 in every 1000 women. Crops in the region 
are destroyed by salt being deposited onto the land. Vast salt plains 
exposed by the shrinking Aral have produced dust storms, making 
regional winters colder and summers hotter. 
Figure 3.14. 
The socio-
economic impacts of the 
shrinking of the Aral Sea 
(Philippe Rekacewicz, 
UNEP/GRID-Arenda)

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3. Water resources of Uzbekistan