Case Study: The Aral Sea
- Created by: Freyae99
- Created on: 27-11-17 12:54
View mindmap
- Case Study: The Aral Sea
- Background
- Located on the Southern boarder of Kazakhstan and also crosses into Uzbekistan.
- In the 1960s it was the 4th largest freshwater sea in the world - covering an area of 68,000km2. However today it is just 90% of its original size.
- In previous centuries the sea has shrank and then recovered. In 400-600AD the lake was just 10m above sea level, between 1000-1500 it fell to 29m above sea level. From 1600 to the Soviet era the lake was increasing in size and in 1961 the surface was 54m above.
- Stakeholders
- Farming community
- Fishing community
- Former Soviet government
- Current Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan governments
- Local villagers
- Countries expected to house the 10million environmental refugees
- Future
- Oil companies want to attempt to find oil resources on the dry sea bed
- Fishermen are expected to breed camels to make a living.
- In 2011 the salinity of the water had dropped significantly and if this trend continues it expected that much of the flora and fauna will return.
- Another dam may be built at the entrance of the Saryshaganka gulf to create a reservoir.
- The World Bank donated $84m to help increase the flow of the tributaries to the sea.
- There are hopes that the sea may return naturally
- Causes
- In the early 1960s, the Soviet government diverted the two main tributaries that fed the Aral Sea, the Amu Darya in the S and the Syr Darya in the E, to irrigate the desert farms in an attempt to grow rice, melons, cereals, and cotton.
- Many of the irrigation canals were poorly built, meaning a lot of water was lost unnecessarily. From the Qaraqum Canal, the largest in Central Asia, 30 to 75% of the water went to waste. Today, only 12% of Uzbekistan's irrigation canal length is waterproofed.
- Effects
- Expected to cause 10million environmental refugees.
- Infant mortailty rates are among the highest in the world with 10% of newborns dying before their 1st birthday
- Only 160 of 310 bird species, 32 of 70 mammal species and very few of the 24 fish species remain
- The land has become infertile due to the amount of pesticides, fertilisers, nuclear weapons test and industry that has taken place.
- Drinking water is polluted.
- The dust that is blown up from the sea bed contains all of these chemicals and is causing respiratory issues, kidney failure and heart problems for local people
- Background
Comments
No comments have yet been made