ISSN: 2582-4686 SJIF 2021-3.261,SJIF 2022-
2.889, 2024-6.875 Resea chBib IF: 9.948 / 2024
VOLUME-5, ISSUE-11
764
GHOST OF THE ARAL SEA: BATTLE IN CENTRAL ASIA BACK AGAINST
ECOLOGICAL DESTRUCTION
W i en by Rahma ulla Poyono .
Pa icipan o P esiden ial Na ional P og am o Suppo ing Gi ed Child en,
A Junio p og amme .
Abs ac : This a icle p o ides in o ma ion abou he A ial Sea, an island ha plays an impo an
ole no only in Cen al Asia bu h oughou he wo ld, he easons o i s d ying up, he people who
su e ed as a esul o i s d ying up, and he un inished megap ojec o he USSR in he 19 h
cen u y.
Keywo ds:
A al Sea, ecological disas e , Cen al Asia, e o es a ion p og ams, wa e managemen e o ms,
A alkum Dese , oxic dus s o ms, saxaul ees, in e na ional diplomacy, MPTF, Koka al Dam,
clima e esilience.
INTRODUCTION
The A al Sea is he la ges closed lake in Cen al Asia. Adminis a i ely, mo e han hal o he sea is
loca ed in he sou hwes e n pa o Uzbekis an, and he no heas e n pa in Kazakhs an. Un il he
1960s, he a ea o he A al Sea, including i s islands, was 68,000 squa e kilome e s. The sea, which
is he ou h la ges in he wo ld, has los 90% o i s olume due o he use o he wa e s o he Amu
Da ya and Sy Da ya o i iga ion. Today, all ha emains a e d y sand pa icles and dus . The
A al Sea, once he wo ld's ou h-la ges lake, has disappea ed by mo e han 90% in a single
gene a ion
Today, Cen al Asian go e nmen s, suppo ed by in e na ional pa ne s, a e igh ing o e e se he
damage h ough ambi ious e o es a ion p og ams and sus ainable wa e managemen e o ms. The
disappea ance o he A al Sea has des oyed he en i e egional economy. Communi ies ha we e
once dependen on he h i ing ishing indus y we e o ced o mig a e as hei li elihoods
collapsed. The ancien seabed, now known as he A alkum Dese , has been con amina ed wi h
pes icide-laden dus . Seasonal winds ca y hese oxins hund eds o miles, inc easing a es o
espi a o y disease, hea disease, and o he ch onic condi ions.
Ecological deg ada ion has also eshaped he egional clima e. A eas ha we e once con olled by
he sea now expe ience ha she win e s, ho e summe s, and longe d ough s. Fa me s a e
s uggling as demand o wa e inc eases while emaining i e supplies a e becoming inc easingly
saline, dis up ing i iga ion and u he educing ag icul u al p oduc i i y. The o igins o he disas e
go back decades.
Li e a u e Re iew.
Ini ial ideas: The idea o b inging wa e o he A al Sea was ini ially de eloped by Y.G.
Demenchenko, who also w o e an a icle. The main pu pose o his idea was o de elop ag icul u e
and ishe ies. This idea was only heo e ical, no p ac ical wo k had been done a ha ime.
P ojec de elopmen p ocesses: Howe e , by 1960, he A al Sea began o d y up, and his a ac ed
scien i ic a en ion. In he 1930s-1970s, scien is s in he ield o hyd aulic enginee ing and ecology,
such as S.P. Melniko and V.I. Vekua, de eloped he echnical aspec s o he p ojec . Scien is s
ISSN: 2582-4686 SJIF 2021-3.261,SJIF 2022-
2.889, 2024-6.875 Resea chBib IF: 9.948 / 2024
VOLUME-5, ISSUE-11
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ini ially conside ed plans o di e 25-60 billion cubic me e s o wa e pe yea om he Ob Ri e
and la e om he I ysh and Tobol i e s o Cen al Asia, and e en de eloped comp ehensi e plans
based on scien i ic e idence.
C i icism o he plan: Despi e he clea plans, many o he scien is s, people, and s a esmen c i icized
his megap ojec . A icles we e w i en abou he impac o his p ojec on he s a e economy and
ecology. And his p ojec was e-examined and canceled due o i s impac on ecology and economy.
Resul s and Discussions
The huge di icul ies a e he e, bu eco e y is demons a ed by he localized successes which a e
nice bu small. The Koka al Dam in Kazakhs an which was inished in 2005, has s abilized and
e i ed he no he n A al Sea pa ially and consequen ly local ecosys ems and ish s ocks ha e
e u ned.
Se e ed en i onmen al eco e y s a egy on an in ensi e scale has been he s a egic mo e o
Uzbekis an whe eby he d y seabed will be g adually co e ed wi h o es e s. The plan ing o
d ough - esis an saxaul ees has al eady aken place o e mo e han wo million hec a es, and no
only ha bu also o educe he equency o oxic dus s o ms and o s abilize he shi ing sands.
A he le el o in e na ional diplomacy, Uzbekis an has been he main ac o . The Uni ed Na ions
Mul i-Pa ne T us Fund o he A al Sea Region (MPTF) was es ablished in 2018 o acili a e
o eign aid and coo dina ion wi h he UN. The UN Gene al Assembly, on May 18, 2021, passed a
esolu ion ha ecognized he A al Sea egion as an a ea o en i onmen al inno a ion and
sus ainable echnologies.
Res o a ion wo k is s ill backed by in e na ional pa ne s’ suppo . USAID g an ed $1.6 million o
Uzbekis an o he es o a ion o o es s and clima e esilience in No embe 2022. China has been
supplying sal - esis an plan s and p o iding echnical know-how since he yea 2020, wi h he goal
o making he dese su ace mo e esilien o he ough condi ions.
Conclusion
The p ojec o es o e he A al Sea is cu en ly being conside ed by uni e si y scien is s and
p o esso s om a ious ields. Ins ead o using canals as be o e, i is p oposed o build 2,100 km o
closed p essu e pipelines. Acco ding o calcula ions, abou 5.5 billion cubic me e s o wa e can be
deli e ed pe yea a he i s s age. Howe e , he cos o he p ojec is e y expensi e and is
expec ed o cos abou $ 100 billion. T ue, his p ojec has no ye been de eloped and will be
de eloped pe ec ly in he u u e, which will g ea ly con ibu e o he es o a ion o he A al Sea. I
he sea lou ishes as be o e, he local popula ion will be able o engage in hei p e ious ac i i ies.
The economic si ua ion o he s a e will also imp o e, and he ecology will change o he be e .
REFERENCES
1. Kun uz say i Link: h ps://kun.uz/news/2025/03/28/qi gizis onda-sibi -da yola ini-ma kaziy-
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2. Subyek i channel in You Tube. Link: h ps://you u.be/ BmJZhbquyA
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