- Reclaiming the Aral Sea
Summary-AVID Article Format
- The Aral Sea is slowly evaporating and increasing in salinity after its 2 water sources, the Amu and Syr Rivers, were diverted for irrigation purposes
- Caused by Soviet Union, situation hid by public until Mikhail Gorbachev revealed levels in 1985
- Fish species dropped from 32 to 6, 60,000, fishery jobs lost, shipping ceased, salinity now >70 g/l
- Groundwater levels dropped, drought more common due to climate change
- 54,000 km2 of dry seabed exposed, choked with salt and pesticides that are blown around the area (500 km)
- Causes vegetation to die or grow impartially, and people to suffer from respiratory and digestive problems
- Weaponized organisms on Vozrozhdeniya Island may have survived and could reach civilizations from Aral Sea
- Restoration looks bleak: flow must quadruple from Syr and Amu rivers, and to drastically limit irrigation use
- Could also plant less thirsty crops, modernize the system or construct pipes to refill sea (led to failure by Kazakhstan in 1990s, dike constructed later in 2005 that rose water levels by 2 meters in 8 months)
- Now 10 g/l salinity, fishers now catching pike perch and sazan in the water again
- Now expected to settle from 4-14 g/l, when more indigenous species can return
- Can be restored further by irrigation improvements, which could stabilize level to 47 meters and decrease salinity and help marshlands
- Large Aral still shrinking rapidly, if no changes made then basin would average at 4,300 km2 at 2.5 m deep
- Salinity at 100 g/l and possibly 200, with only bacteria and brine shrimp left; Engineering would solve this through increased water flow through rivers and irrigation improvements, started in 1980 and continued
- Situation proves that humans can wreck the environment fast, quick fixes aren't effective, avoidance never works, and the environment is still resilient
Summary
The Aral Sea's situation is a bleak one ever since its diversion of its main sources - the Amu and Syr Rivers. Because of the growing population, the Soviet Union needed more agriculture in the area, and irrigation was increased. Unfortunately, this caused the Aral Sea to evaporate itself into a state of high salinity, and the water level started to decrease as well as biodiversity. Fortunately, there is a solution to this, and that means less water for irrigation and more pumping of water into the sea. Hopefully, the sea becomes inhabitable and turns into a viable source of fish, rather than a wasteland plagued with salt, chemicals, and dead organisms.
Reflection
Since this has cost so much to partially repair, I believe that the Aral Sea's position now should be a warning to cities that think about completely prioritizing human needs over natural conservation. This outcome showed that not tending to the ecosystem's needs can cause social issues as well, such as decreased jobs and decreased resources. In order to keep this from happening ever again, population levels should be put in check in order to void the possibility of not having enough food to sustain the population. More civilian involvement should also be made regarding resources such as water in order to prevent unneeded and unwanted changes.