Save the Aral Sea

Among the continental lakes of the globe the Aral Sea occupied the fourth place in the area. We have to stress-occupied. Today the Aral is perishing. This badly affects the population of the area, which includes several regions of the Central Asian Republicans and the Kzyl Orda region of Kazakhstan. In some places the Aral has moved a hundred kilometers from the former coasts. The sea level has sunk 18 metres, the area has decreased more than one third, the volume of water – 60%. The average salinity has increased two and a half times, which brought about the death of fish – as a fishery area the sea has completely lost its importance. According to some preliminary estimates wind lifts from the bare sea bed and scatters to a distance of 400-500 km. tens of millions of tones of caustic salts that threaten to ruin the agricultural oases for which water is drawn. There is an average 520 kg fall of sand and salt per hectare of the Aral lands. The ecological catastrophe led to the growth of the sickness rate, dangerous demographic situation, unemployment and poverty of the people, living in that area. In 1989 a special government commission, composed of most prominent scientists was set up. An international Public Aral Aid Fund was instituted to work out the program on the restoration of the ecological balance in the Aral sea basin. In 1996 the local authorities began to strengthen the Kokaral Dam. For the Aral region the construction of this dam is of great economical and ecological significance. For the last ten years the mentality of people in this region has changed, they are now confident of themselves and rely on their own strength, they believe that they will have job and future.