Once the world’s fourth-largest lake between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, the Aral Sea has drastically shrunk due to river diversions
Sujata Praharaj
The Earth is magnificent and wondrous. In its million years of existence, mankind has not been able to find a second match of hers. She has offered lavish bounties for all human senses. In return, man has left no stone unturned to destroy her. Alas! The natural features that took a billion years to be formed are shattered in a few years. The purely anthropogenic destruction emanates from insatiable human greed and irrational behavior.
Aral Sea
Straddling the boundary between Kazakhstan to the north and Uzbekistan to the south, once there flowed the world’s fourth-largest lake, the Aral Sea. Calling it a ‘Sea’ is a reference to the vastness endowed to the freshwater lake by the nature. Sweeping an immense area, the lake was fed by the inflows of the Syr Darya and Amu Darya which annually contributed 38.6 cubic kilometers and 14.5 cubic kilometers of water respectively. The lake was the lifeline of the people of the two countries. The main sources of livelihood, agriculture, and fishing that flourished in the region, sustained a rich and happy life for the Taziks and Uzbekis.
The 426 kilometers long and 284 km wide lake with the deepest point of 68 meters carrying 1083 volumes of water that once ran over 68000 km² has contracted to an area of 8000 km². Its maximum depth has come down to 20 meters and water volume has come down to 75 cubic kilometres. The unprecedented desiccation is attributed to human greed. The tragic story started in the third quarter of the last century.
Spanning over thirty years from 1960 to 1990, the region under the Soviet Union was turned into a cotton hub. The rise in agricultural irrigation from 4.5 million hectares to 7 million hectares demanded more water. Millions of gallons of water were siphoned off to irrigate cotton fields by the farmers and state agencies of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Central Asian countries by opening several diversions from the rivers feeding the lake.
The inflow to the lake rapidly got squeezed. From 50 cubic kilometers of fresh water per year in 1965, water intake dropped to unbelievably zero in the early 1980s. The lake faced rapid desiccation. By the early 2020s, the volume of the lake dropped fifteen fold, its surface area plummeted ninefold and its water level declined threefold.
Cropping Pattern
The consequence was disastrous having multidimensional effects. The concentration of salt and minerals in the lake rose transforming the freshwater lake into a saltwater body. It not only altered the chemistry of the lake but also changed its ecology permanently. The rapid squeeze of the lake changed the climate of the region. The resultant shorter cropping season compelled farmers to change the cropping pattern. The farmers switched from cotton farming to paddy which required more water only to exert greater pressure on the dwindling water availability in the lake.
The rapid shrinkage of the lake led to greater exposure of its bed. Around 300 tiny islands that once dotted the lake have merged with the surrounding land. The former Vozrozhdeniya Island where the Soviet Union tested biological weapons between 1954 and 1990 is one such island The 4 million hectares of seabed turned into a desert. Named the Aralkum Desert, it is the world’s youngest desert.
The transformation of the lake into a desert has triggered an environmental crisis in the region. Soil erosion and air pollution are the first takes. As the atmosphere became dry, strong winds creating sandstorms picked up tons of exposed soil that accumulated in the nearby areas. The soil particles float in the air reducing the air quality and causing breathing problems for the people. It has contributed to the spread of diseases and higher infant mortality rates. Environmentalists claim that the dust particles have reached the Pamir Mountains to accelerate glacier melting.
Disturbed Biodiversity
The lake’s quick recession left a major impact on the living conditions and biodiversity of the whole region. The shrinkage affected the livelihood of about 3 million people in the basin. A staggering drop in fish population forced the thriving commercial fishing business to a permanent closure by the early 1980s, affecting about 60000 people. The regular deposit of salt-laden soil on the arable lands became a reason for fast-reducing crop yields. The collapse of livelihood forced people either to migrate to other places or to fetch alternative occupations.
The Aral Sea is breathing its last. The process of desiccation that started at the beginning of the third quarter of the last century continues with an annual depth loss of 80 to 110 centimeters. The basin once possessed a vibrant environment for marine and wildlife of more than 319 bird species, 300 plant species, and 70 animal species.
The lake housed 34 species of fish. Most of these innocent creatures became extinct with the rise in salinity. As fishing was abandoned, fishing boats lay scattered on the dried-up sea bed. The slow walk of camels has replaced the undulation of fishes. What a tragic end of the glittering majestic lake!
The price of desiccation of the Aral Sea is quite big, estimated to be USD 100 million annually. Once part of the Soviet Union, the condition of its bordering countries is too vulnerable, both economically and politically.
Still, the environmental hazards prompted Uzbekistan to undertake afforestation programs which have significantly slowed down soil erosion and soil and dust dispersion. The act is laudable. But no action is enough as the dried-up Aral Sea will never regain its original form. Never will the dazzling waves dance. The beautiful lake met an unnatural death at the hands of human greed.
(The writer is a columnist. Views expressed are personal.)
