Aral Sea

Karakalpakstan, in the south. In translation the name sounds like "Sea of ​​Islands", as it more than 1,500 islands. Since the 1960s, the water level in the Aral Sea began to plummet, due to the fact that the bed of rivers flowing into the sea, were changed by the Soviet Union for irrigation. In 2004, the sea remains only a quarter of its original area, and is five times increased its salinity, which killed most of the characteristic of a species of flora and fauna.The Aral Sea is also polluted, largely due to weapons testing, industrial projects, and agricultural waste discharges. Not 
uncommon, and there are dust storms. Currently, Kazakhstan has a lot of work to restore the Aral Sea. The main environmental problem is that changing the channel the Syr Darya and Amu Darya rivers for irrigation greatly reduced the area of ​​the Aral Sea. The Aral Sea dried out for fifty years, calling for the sea and the region.many environmental and economic problems. In 1918, the Soviet government decided that the rivers Amu Darya and Syr Darya, flowing into the Aral Sea will change the channel to irrigate the desert, which would be used for agriculture. Large scale construction of irrigation canals has taken in the 1940s. Most of the irrigation canals were terrible quality, they allow water to evaporate or seep. The greatest in the middle of the Karakum Canal Asia lost because of this more than 50% water. By the 60th year, approximately 40,000 cubic meters of water annually went into the ground instead of the sea. Due to the explosion of water, the Aral sea began to shrink rapidly. In the period from 1961 to 1970, the water level in the Aral Sea each year decreased by 20 cm, from 1971 to 1980 in the 60-70 cm per year, and the 80th year this figure had reached 90 cm per year. The area of ​​the sea has decreased by 60%, and its volume by 80%. In 1960, the Aral Sea was the fourth lake in the world's largest, and had an area of ​​about 68,000 km and a volume of 1100 square meters. miles. By 1998, the lake was reduced to 28,687 km, and has become the eighth largest. By this time, its salinity has increased from 10 gr. / Liter. to 45 gr. / liter. In 1987, due to the ongoing shoaling, the sea split into two parts, the North Aral and South Aral Sea. Artificial channel was dug to connect them, but the relationship ended in 1999, as both parts of the sea continued to decline. In 2003, the South Aral Sea is still divided on the eastern and western part. At present, the evaporation of the Northern Aral Sea decreased. We are working on its restoration. In October 2003, the Kazakh government announced the start of construction of the dam (Dam Kokaral) to separate the two parts of the Aral Sea. In August 2005 construction of the dam was completed, after which the water level in the Northern Aral Sea has risen and its salinity has decreased. In 2006 there were a significant rise in sea level, even more than expected. In January 1994, the countries of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan signed an agreement, under which 1% of their national budgets allocated to address the problems of the sea.