Friday, November 14, 2014
Aral Sea: Aftermath
The Aral Sea Disaster serves as a reminder to what happens when nature is challenged. Ambitious projects meant to control nature often end up backfiring and causing more problems than they intend to fix. The lesson to take from this debacle is that any plan regarding the environment must be carefully thought out before acting upon it. The consequences of a poorly concocted plan will be paid, if not by the current generation then by the ones following it.
Ship Graveyard
One of the most remarkable aspects of the Aral Sea Disaster is what is known as the "Ship Graveyard". If you were to drive a vehicle around the dried up sea floor you would periodically come across rusty ships and sea vessels just lying right there in the sand. Like something out of a post apocalyptic film it is a curious and haunting site to behold, a large derelict of a ship rotting in the desert, hundreds of miles away from water.
![[150271030_c3e686a343_o.jpg]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHfz64_cgdTSgzeZWGWM9WlP1K-rCbME28er1BlwVQl5fvjcA4Pm8Hq_yv_7WvK7Qppx65O9Et_65_rk_B4DisAtxEV5HagfMIa8OEU6c-uJasfr7GLoinJUiIKVy4XIhVVc9Lo0UIpQ/s1600/150271030_c3e686a343_o.jpg)
What Can Be Done?
The Aral Sea Disaster is a major environmental issue that cannot fix itself overnight. Some people even believe that the damage is irreversible even with human help. While the Aral Sea most likely will never recover to what it once was, there is a possibility of it becoming a healthy body of water again, or at least less of an environmental detriment. Here are a number of solutions to rebuilding the Aral Sea:
-One solution is to improve the quality of the irrigation canals, meaning improve their water management. If the canals were to use less water then more could be allocated to supplying the Aral Sea. Increasing the flow of water to the Aral Sea is crucial to the long term recovery of the surrounding area.
-Implementing desalinization plants has been proposed to help relieve the problem regarding a lack of clean fresh water. Many people living near the Aral Sea struggle to find a steady supply of adequate water, desalinization plants will not help rebuild the Aral Sea but it will help the people's woes.
-Another solution would be to charge farmers a fee for their water use. The idea behind this is that farmers will not use as much water for fear of paying extra for it, and the result would be less water use from the farmers and more water flowing into the Aral Sea.
-Cotton is a delicate plant species that requires a lot of care and even more water. Since cotton requires a large amount of irrigation it may be prudent to find a cotton replacement, either another species that uses less water or some sort of synthetic. By turning the focus away from cotton this will allow more water to flow the complete length of the Syr and Amu Darya into the Aral Sea.
-A solution to help with the pollution issue is to use less chemicals and fertilizers on the crops. These chemicals eventually make their way into the Aral Sea or the dusty surrounding areas. By limiting the amount of chemicals poured on the crops there will be a decrease in pollution and pollution related health effects
-An ambitious solution, diverting part of the Volga River to feed the Aral Sea has been proposed. This would be a costly and time consuming endeavor, as well as one that would required the cooperation of multiple countries. It also has the same ring to it as the old "Great Plan for the Transformation of Nature" for it means building one large canal to irrigate another area. There may be unforeseen consequences to this action and is most likely not the best option.
-A more viable solution may be to promote non-agricultural economic activities in upstream areas. By shifting away from agriculture more water would be send downstream into the Aral Sea. The only potential issues to consider with this plan is increased pollution if the shift from agriculture leads to urbanization and if urbanization takes place it may take up more than than it lends to the Aral Sea.
Currently the Aral Sea has been split into two lakes, the North Aral Sea and the South Aral Sea. The North Aral Sea is supplied by the Syr Darya and the southern Aral by the Amu Darya. In the mid to late 2000s the North Aral Sea has seen minor improvement with its water levels increasing from less than 30 meters to 38 meters thanks to restoration efforts from the Kazakhstan government. On the other hand the South Aral Sea has seen little recovery with the Uzbekistan government appearing to be more focused on growing cotton along the Amu Darya and finding oil along the dried up Aral Sea bed.
-One solution is to improve the quality of the irrigation canals, meaning improve their water management. If the canals were to use less water then more could be allocated to supplying the Aral Sea. Increasing the flow of water to the Aral Sea is crucial to the long term recovery of the surrounding area.
-Implementing desalinization plants has been proposed to help relieve the problem regarding a lack of clean fresh water. Many people living near the Aral Sea struggle to find a steady supply of adequate water, desalinization plants will not help rebuild the Aral Sea but it will help the people's woes.
-Another solution would be to charge farmers a fee for their water use. The idea behind this is that farmers will not use as much water for fear of paying extra for it, and the result would be less water use from the farmers and more water flowing into the Aral Sea.
-Cotton is a delicate plant species that requires a lot of care and even more water. Since cotton requires a large amount of irrigation it may be prudent to find a cotton replacement, either another species that uses less water or some sort of synthetic. By turning the focus away from cotton this will allow more water to flow the complete length of the Syr and Amu Darya into the Aral Sea.
-A solution to help with the pollution issue is to use less chemicals and fertilizers on the crops. These chemicals eventually make their way into the Aral Sea or the dusty surrounding areas. By limiting the amount of chemicals poured on the crops there will be a decrease in pollution and pollution related health effects
-An ambitious solution, diverting part of the Volga River to feed the Aral Sea has been proposed. This would be a costly and time consuming endeavor, as well as one that would required the cooperation of multiple countries. It also has the same ring to it as the old "Great Plan for the Transformation of Nature" for it means building one large canal to irrigate another area. There may be unforeseen consequences to this action and is most likely not the best option.
-A more viable solution may be to promote non-agricultural economic activities in upstream areas. By shifting away from agriculture more water would be send downstream into the Aral Sea. The only potential issues to consider with this plan is increased pollution if the shift from agriculture leads to urbanization and if urbanization takes place it may take up more than than it lends to the Aral Sea.
Currently the Aral Sea has been split into two lakes, the North Aral Sea and the South Aral Sea. The North Aral Sea is supplied by the Syr Darya and the southern Aral by the Amu Darya. In the mid to late 2000s the North Aral Sea has seen minor improvement with its water levels increasing from less than 30 meters to 38 meters thanks to restoration efforts from the Kazakhstan government. On the other hand the South Aral Sea has seen little recovery with the Uzbekistan government appearing to be more focused on growing cotton along the Amu Darya and finding oil along the dried up Aral Sea bed.
Human and Environmental Health Effects
Due to the irrigation practices of the Soviet Union the Aral Sea lost over 90% of its water. Obvious health and environmental impacts were the loss of much of the aquatic life within its waters. Once teeming with fish and renowned for its fishing industry, the Aral Sea must now import fish from other places to fill its dwindling volume with wildlife. The reason fish have disappeared in the Aral Sea is not just due to less space for aquatic species to exist, but also because of increased salinity and pollution. Before losing most of its water, the salinity of the Aral Sea was 10 g/l, in 1998 the salinity was 45 g/l. At present day there some parts of the south Aral that have a salinity of over 100 g/l. Different aquatic organisms can live at only certain levels of salinity, more thrive in higher salinity and some at less, by changing the salinity of a water body one also changes what organisms can exist in that environment. In addition, the decrease in volume has created a pollution problem within the Aral Sea. When the area of the sea was 26,300 sq. miles any pollution that entered the water could be diluted. Now at present day the area of the Aral Sea is somewhere between 2,000-3,000 sq. miles. Pollution is more highly concentrated in a smaller area making the waters far more toxic. The dried up water beds also contribute to increased pollution. Toxic metals and pesticides deposited on the sea floor emerge once again when the water recedes. Dust storms scatter the pollutants through the air to be inhaled by humans and animals alike. When it rains these metals and pesticides drain into the Aral Sea once more to pollute it a second time, and when the water recedes further the cycle continues anew.
The salinity and pollution of the Aral Sea has almost destroyed the ecosystem in the area. With less fish there are also less birds and other species that rely on the well being of the waters they live near. Seabirds, muskrats, and marshland species have all suffered from loss of habitat. Often when one member of the ecosystem is removed others soon follow, resulting in the "desert of death" that was once the Aral Sea.
Humans are not immune to the Aral Sea Disaster either. The land surrounding the Aral Sea is heavily polluted due to industry, farming, and chemical weapons testing. Toxic metals from the industries, pesticides from farming, and bacterial agents from the weapons all reside in the soil of the Aral Sea bed. When the sea dries, these particles enter the sky with the help of strong steppe gusts. These pollutants are then inhaled by the people living nearby causing a variety of health problems. Tuberculosis, cancer, anemia, digestive disorders, and infectious diseases all occur at higher rates in areas around the Aral Sea. Liver kidney, and eye problems are prevalent as well. Vulnerable members of the population such as children and the elderly have unusually high mortality rates. Additionally, the high pollution has contributed to a scarcity of clean drinking water for much of the population. Water itself, clean or not, is also becoming more difficult to access thanks to the decline of the Aral Sea.
The salinity and pollution of the Aral Sea has almost destroyed the ecosystem in the area. With less fish there are also less birds and other species that rely on the well being of the waters they live near. Seabirds, muskrats, and marshland species have all suffered from loss of habitat. Often when one member of the ecosystem is removed others soon follow, resulting in the "desert of death" that was once the Aral Sea.
Humans are not immune to the Aral Sea Disaster either. The land surrounding the Aral Sea is heavily polluted due to industry, farming, and chemical weapons testing. Toxic metals from the industries, pesticides from farming, and bacterial agents from the weapons all reside in the soil of the Aral Sea bed. When the sea dries, these particles enter the sky with the help of strong steppe gusts. These pollutants are then inhaled by the people living nearby causing a variety of health problems. Tuberculosis, cancer, anemia, digestive disorders, and infectious diseases all occur at higher rates in areas around the Aral Sea. Liver kidney, and eye problems are prevalent as well. Vulnerable members of the population such as children and the elderly have unusually high mortality rates. Additionally, the high pollution has contributed to a scarcity of clean drinking water for much of the population. Water itself, clean or not, is also becoming more difficult to access thanks to the decline of the Aral Sea.
Causes of the Aral Sea Disaster
A great calamity befell the Aral Sea, but what exactly was this catastrophe and how did it happen? From the time humans first settled in the area up until the mid 20th century the Aral Sea never came under any real threat. This changed in the 1960s when Soviet engineers began to build irrigation canals along the Syr Darya and Amu Darya rivers (the two most important rivers in supplying water to the Aral Sea). The idea was first proposed in the late 1940s by the leader of the Soviet Union Joseph Stalin. This plan came in response to famines that struck the Soviet Union in 1946-1947 resulting in the deaths of 500,000-1,000,000 people. The project was named "The Great Plan for the Transformation of Nature" an appropriate title, since that the plan literally called for bending nature to man's will. The operation would be enormous and take decades to carry out, and its purpose was to turn the dry steppes of Central Asia into a system of shelterbelts and subsequent farms suitable for growing a variety of crops. The shelterbelts would block the relentless winds of the Central Asian plains and prevent soil erosion. With the help of irrigation canals these shelterbelts and the farms they protect could be built and provide food for the Soviet Union. The end goal was a Soviet State that could provide its own food and not have to rely on foreign imports. To carry out this ambitious plan the flows of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya had to be diverted. These two rivers would provide the irrigation necessary for planting the forest strips that would shield the farms from desertification.
In the 1960s irrigation canals were dug and watered the surrounding areas, allowing for crops that were not usually found in the central Asian Steppe to be grown. Rice, melons, cereals, and cotton were grown successfully, much to the delight of Soviet administrators. Those in charge of the project were well aware of what would happen to the Aral Sea after the irrigation canals were built. Soviet experts knew that the Aral Sea would dry up but they did not predict the human and environmental health catastrophe that would follow it. Some believed that the Aral Sea was "nature's error" and would inevitably dry up due to evaporation anyway. Since the Aral Sea was already doomed to disappear they figured "hey why not speed up the process and help ourselves in the meantime?" They did just that. Stalin's plan to transform nature achieved its goal of supplying the Soviet Union with food and cash crops to export. In 1988 the Soviet Republic of Uzbekistan was the world's #1 exporter of cotton. Natures had been conquered and bent to the will of man, but at what cost?
Throughout the 1960s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and 2000s the irrigation canals built along the Syr and Amu Darya Rivers used increasingly more water meant for the Aral Sea. The result was a sea level drop that increased more with each passing decade. By 1998, the Aral sea had lost 80% of its original volume. Even after the breakup of the Soviet Union, local governments in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan continued the irrigation practices that robbed the Aral Sea of its water. In 2014, the product of these governments' ambition can be seen and felt by all of the world despite the fact that most of the perpetrators of this disaster are no longer alive to see their creation.
In the 1960s irrigation canals were dug and watered the surrounding areas, allowing for crops that were not usually found in the central Asian Steppe to be grown. Rice, melons, cereals, and cotton were grown successfully, much to the delight of Soviet administrators. Those in charge of the project were well aware of what would happen to the Aral Sea after the irrigation canals were built. Soviet experts knew that the Aral Sea would dry up but they did not predict the human and environmental health catastrophe that would follow it. Some believed that the Aral Sea was "nature's error" and would inevitably dry up due to evaporation anyway. Since the Aral Sea was already doomed to disappear they figured "hey why not speed up the process and help ourselves in the meantime?" They did just that. Stalin's plan to transform nature achieved its goal of supplying the Soviet Union with food and cash crops to export. In 1988 the Soviet Republic of Uzbekistan was the world's #1 exporter of cotton. Natures had been conquered and bent to the will of man, but at what cost?
Throughout the 1960s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and 2000s the irrigation canals built along the Syr and Amu Darya Rivers used increasingly more water meant for the Aral Sea. The result was a sea level drop that increased more with each passing decade. By 1998, the Aral sea had lost 80% of its original volume. Even after the breakup of the Soviet Union, local governments in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan continued the irrigation practices that robbed the Aral Sea of its water. In 2014, the product of these governments' ambition can be seen and felt by all of the world despite the fact that most of the perpetrators of this disaster are no longer alive to see their creation.
History of the Aral Sea
In Old Turkic the word aral means "island" and the name Aral Sea roughly translates to "Sea of Islands". Before disaster struck the Aral Sea it was known for the thousands of small islands that dotted it. The Aral Sea was believed to have been formed 5.5 million years ago after a fall in sea level and the rise of the Elburz and Caucasus mountain ranges. Two rivers, the Syr Darya and Amu Darya, began to flow into the Aral Sea from the east. These rivers, Syr Darya (north) and Amu Darya (south) are critical to feeding the Aral Sea and are key to understanding the root of the Aral Sea Disaster.
The Aral Sea
The Aral Sea is a large water body found in central Asia east of the larger Caspian Sea. It is bordered on the edges of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, two former Soviet Republics. The Aral Sea was once one of the four largest lakes on Earth, encompassing 26,300 sq. miles. In 2014, only 10% of the Aral Sea remains. This phenomena is known as the "Aral Sea Disaster". The Aral Sea Disaster refers to the unprecedented nightmare event of a large body of water disappearing almost entirely. Such an event has massive negative impacts on both human and environmental health in the affected areas. In addition to health problems, the Aral Sea Disaster has irreparably damaged economic industries in both countries, particularly the fishing, sailing, and tourism industry. What was once a unique part of Earth's biosphere that teemed with aquatic life is now little more than a dried up testament to what happens when humans interfere with nature.
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