The Vanishing Aral Sea

Virgin and Idle Lands Program (1954-60)

Nikita S. Khrushchev

Premier of USSR 1958-64

agricultural area to be increased by 25%…expansion of sown area necessary

Where???

Western Siberia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan

the goal: to have 1 hectare (2.47 acres) of agricultural land per person living in U.S.S.R.

An old riverbed cuts through the delta of the Amu Darya, the river that flows along a portion of the border between Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. A total of 2,540 kilometers (1,578 miles) long, the river runs from the Dar"yoi Pomir plateau in Afghanistan to the Aral Sea and provides irrigation water throughout the region.

Amu Darya Delta

By 1977, the formerly large fish catch at the Aral Sea had declined by over seventy-five percent. Once, the

annual catch of fish in the Aral was 50,000 tons. By the early 1980's, commercially useful fish were eliminated,

shutting down an enterprise that had employed 60,000. No fish have been commercially taken since 1981.

Virgin and Idle Lands Program (1954-60)

the goal: to have 1 hectare per person - expansion of sown area (Western Siberia; Northern Kazakhstan), agricultural area increased by 25% problems: marginal climatic area; frequent droughts; fragile soils; varying harvests; drainage and irrigation, chemical fertilizers; better harvesting technologies; intensification in agriculture yields have improved until 1980s development of non-chernozem zone

Nikita S. Khrushchev

Premier of USSR 1958-64

1964 1973

1997

Aral Sea Environmental Effects:- 30+ years of irrigation for cotton and rice- 85% loss of water since 1964- From 4th to 31st largest world lake- Salinity increased: 10% to 23%- Destroyed fishing industry- Changed local climate

(increased continentality)- Dust storms spread 75K tons of

saline/pesticide soil annually, much of it into the same fields created by irrigation

1985

Now (1999)

and

Then(1961)

2009

Impact on Health

In Nukus, the capital of Karakalpakia, since 1988…

cases of kidney and liver diseases have increased 30 fold cases of arthritic diseases have increased 60 fold cases of chronic bronchitis have increased 30 fold

20% of young women aged 13-19 have kidney diseases 23% of young women aged 13-19 have thyroid dysfunctions

80% of all women suffer from anemia (nearly all hemorrhage while giving birth resulting in

one of the highest maternal mortality rates on Earth)

oneworld.org

“...we may be witnessing the end of our society as a result of human folly…”

Dr. Ataniyazovaa gynecologist and obstetrician, based in the Nukus

Vozrozhdenie Island Vozrozhdenie (rebirth), was the large island in center of Aral Sea, was a Soviet germ warfare facility during the cold war era. At one time, we would not be viewing this photo because it was classified as militarily sensitive. Astronauts on early shuttle flights were told not to take any photographic images of that region.