The Environmental Disaster of the Aral Sea

Create a cause-and-effect diagram, which lists a series of effects that resulted from

diverting (redirecting) water for irrigation.

Location:

Why is the Aral Sea important?

• It was once the fourth largest inland body of water on earth

• It provided rich fishing resources

• It is an example of Soviet misuse of theenvironment

Fishing once employed many thousands; unemployment is at about 40% today.

What started the Aral Sea problem?

• In the 1950s, the U.S.S.R. wanted to grow cotton in the deserts of Central Asia

• They needed to irrigate the land by using nearby rivers

How was the Aral Sea affected?

• The Amu Darya and the Syr Darya were a source of irrigation water

• These riversfeed into theAral Sea

• The Aral hasgreatly shrunk

Amu Darya River today is a mere trickle.

The Damage Over Time:

The Damage Over Time:

Ships stranded due to the lack of water

Former military ships on Vozrozhdenie Island

The Effects on Aral Sea Fishing

In 1957 the Aral provided 26,000 tons of fish - today a catch is rare.

Only the cans in the museum recall the past - all the canning factories have gone, the population has shrunk to 1,500.

Other Environmental Problems:

• Cotton cultivation requires the use of pesticides and fertilizers

• The use of these agents in the Aral Sea region have caused huge health problems

Around 70% of women suffer from anemia and the death rate in childbirth is high.

Other Human Costs:

The small bazaar in Muynak has almost no fruits or vegetables and the people feel abandoned by the world.

Soviet Damage to the Land and Humans

Intense air pollution due to industry on Russia’s Kola Peninsula

Semey, Kazakhstan – children suffer from birth defects due to nuclear fallout. Between 1949 and 1989 nearly 500 nuclear devices were detonated

here.

Magnitogorsk, Russia - outside the Lenin Steel Works.

Baku, Azerbaijan – leaking oil rigs in their back yard become the only playgrounds for children in

Baku.

Siauliai, Lithuania - Soviet military personnel left behind environmental

damages which would cost up to $250 million to clean up.

Kiev, Ukraine. 1993 - Baffling cases of allergies and skin diseases among children are common due to

pollution and radiation from Chernobyl.

Magnitogorsk, Russia - birth defects are reported to have doubled here since 1980.