T he aral sea

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Task 2 Text: The Aral Sea
T HE ARAL SEA

The Aral Sea, once the fourth largest lake in the world, has shrunk by more than half of its surface and by more than two thirds of its volume. Since 1960 its water level has fallen by more than 16 meters and its salinity has increased by more than 15 three times. The former sea bed is now a barren salt desert.

The shrinkage of the sea is easily explained. The Aral Sea has no outflow so, in the past, nature kept a balance by replacing the water which evaporates in the hot sun (about 60 cubic kilometers each year) with new water brought by its two feeder rivers the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya. However, the rise in demand for water to irrigate the cotton crops of Central Asia and to supply the growing population has led to more and more water being taken from the Amu Darya, the Syr Darya and their tributaries. As a result, the natural balance has been broken and the amount of water reaching the Aral Sea is no longer enough to replace that lost through evaporation. Consequently, the volume and level of the sea are decreasing, its shoreline is retreating, and its salinity is increasing.
The drying up of the Aral sea is one of the world's major environmental disasters. Not only is the environment around the lake being destroyed, but the livelihood and health of the people who live there are also being damaged. The cotton harvest in the fields of the Amu Darya delta is declining since the reduction in the area of the Sea has changed the local climate and resulted in a shorter growing season. The fertility of the soil has also been reduced by the salt blown off the dry seabed. Because of this drop in fertility, farmers use more chemicals on their land. These chemical fertilizers and pesticides have polluted the rivers and the Aral Sea itself. Drinking water taken from these sources is also polluted. In addition, the air contains salt, dust and pollutants blown from the sea bed. This pollution of the air and water is causing serious health problems. Many people suffer from anemia, breathing difficulties and stomach problems including gastritis. The infant mortality rates increased by 20% from 1980 to 1989 and have long been the highest in the Republic. Doctors say that these health problems are due to the bad water and polluted air.
Several international organizations including the UNDP and UNEP are now helping the Government of Uzbekistan to tackle the problem of the Aral Sea. The World Bank is giving over $30 million to help save the Sea and expensive research projects and international conferences of experts are planned. In fact, there is a joke that if every expert who visits the Aral Sea brought a bucket of water the problem could be solved! But for the people of the area it is no laughing matter. Written in chalk on the side of a ship stuck in the sand near Muynak are the words, "Forgive us Aral. Please come back!" Whether the Aral is prepared to forgive us is still an unanswered question.