It’s another post about the Aral Sea. Of all the lakes whose name I can never recall the Aral Sea is probably my favourite.
It’s a familiar story, in the 1960’s the Soviet Union diverted the rivers feeding the sea in order to boost cotton production in the region. However by doing so they caused water levels to slowly fall and now the lake is a mere shadow of its former self. The Soviets were aware of the pitfalls and the project did have its intended effect as Kazakhstan is now a major producer of cotton. Still that doesn’t change the fact that the Aral Sea is a modern-day environmental catastrophe.
The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon toured the area this week and had this to say: “It is clearly one of the worst disasters, environmental disasters of the world. I was so shocked, I urge all the leaders to sit down together and try to find the solutions.”
