Aralsk, a small, proud town in Kazakhstan that once helped alleviate the Great Russian Famine of 1918 supplying fish to the great nation’s hungry masses, now lies emancipated, itself a victim of starvation. Waters that lapped the shores of this once thriving port have receded, industry has long dried up and workers have migrated. Left behind are barren banks, empty wharves and broken families.

In the last forty years, the Aral Sea has retreated over ten kilometers, leaving the entire region’s economy and way of life in tatters. It is a tragedy forgotten by the world, an ever present reality for those left in its wake and a disaster for which nature is far from responsible.

Throughout the 1960s the then Soviet government undertook an irrigation project of massive scale in its satellite states of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, the aim to increase cotton production. The plan required diverting two rivers, both major arteries that emptied their life-giving water into the Aral Sea. The result was devastating. Water levels dropped to such a degree that the Aral Sea is now broken into two sections, north and south. In many places the once-vast sea has receded over 40km from its previous shorelines resulting in environmental decimation and massive climatic change. Once prosperous fishing villages are now ghost towns and the health of remaining townspeople has declined rapidly as the once mild climate has transformed to subfreezing temperatures as early as August. Dust and sand storms frequently blow in from what used to be the becalmed Aral Sea, a gritty reminder of the desperation faced, a desperation the Soviet government was complicent in creating. The administration was fully aware that river diversion for the benefit of its cotton fields would come at a price, that of destroying the mighty Aral Sea and its dependent communities.

Once famed for its copious supply of fish, the Aral Sea once supported a busy shipping trade providing a healthy source of revenue for the region’s 500,000 people. With a surface area of 66,100 square kilometers, an average depth of 16 meters and a salt content of one percent, it was a source of great pride until the upstream irrigation program began wreaking its havoc. Cotton and rice production required vast amounts of water, the government in its economic considerations determined that cotton-field irrigation would be more productive despite the relatively healthy state of the Aral fishing industry and its positive long term prospects.

Shortly after the decision, water from the Syr-Darja and Amu-Darja rivers - waterways that flow from the mountainous regions in Tajikistan through Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan - were diverted permanently. The irrigation project managed to siphon off almost 90% of the water destined to feed the Aral Sea. Once a giant 66,100 square kilometers, the sea’s surface area is now less then 27,000 square kilometers and over 60% of water volume has been lost. Sea depth has declined to an average of 14 meters and salt concentration has increased by two and a half. Changes in the sea’s size and composition have led to severe environmental and climatic changes in the region: declining surface area is the sole cause of 200,000 tonnes of salt and sand being distributed daily by powerful winds from the seabed across nearby towns and villages resulting in widespread disease and crop damage.

Historically, agriculture was second only to fishing in importance to the people of the Aral Sea region. The redistribution of salt is fast reducing the amount of arable land, destroying farms, pastures and fodder for domestic animals and with it communities’ livelihoods. Today, the people of the northern Aral Sea region rely on raising animals in barely surviveable comditions while those in the south, blessed with more annual rainfall, are able to grow limited crops near the Syr-Darja river, however salt dispersion continues to cause reductions in the crop-quality yields. In the north the processing of hides, wool, meat and milk is the only means to an income. Businessmen from regions throughout Central Asia exploit the desperate situation, forcing prices down. Animal population has become so low in recent years that the government has stepped in to issue laws reducing their slaughter.


The destruction of the fishing industry has had a trickle down effect on many other promising enterprises. Once popular local industries such as tailoring and shoe production have suffered with factory closures widespread. Such changes in the region's traditional economic vitality have led to massive workforce emigration. In Aralsk alone, population has declined some 15% in the last ten years and the Aral Sea region in general maintains the highest level of unemployment in Kazakhstan, with official figures at 18%. Women are especially affected with unemployment at approximately 50%. The stark reality has forced families apart as men migrate far afield in search of work, wives remaining behind with children. Youth unemployment is high and the lack of legitimate opportunities in the region is the largest check on the advancement of the people's well being. Those that have stayed struggle to support their families through small trade or basic agriculture.

With declining industry has come declining infrastructure. Fifty years ago water supply, sanitation, and waste management in Central Asia was designed, managed, and monitored according to Soviet regulations. Technology was decent and people relatively healthy. Since the Soviet Union’s breakup, water supply and sanitation systems have fallen to ruin. Lacking fresh drinking water, many drink directly from the Syr-Darja River or its numerous canals, a dangerous practice as the river suffers from increased salinity, bacteriological contamination and the presence of pesticides. Sewage facilities are also dated and ineffective. More than half of the urban centre population and all of the rural population, including those in schools, health clinics, and administration buildings, use simple wooden pit latrines considered by visiting health experts as unhygienic.

The salt and dust laden air combined with the heavily polluted water has had further health implications. Since the irrigation project was first implemented there has been an increase in typhoid fever, viral hepatitis, tuberculosis, throat cancer and an increase in children with birth defects. All of these can be attributed to the reduction in quality and quantity of water, the spread of toxic dusts and deterioration of a once mild climate.

Today, in the face of such problems, the people of the Aral Sea remain strong and proud. Despite the hazards and obstacles that lay ahead, many choose to stay. Their homes, lives, values and beliefs remain connected to the Aral Sea which, however fragmented and wasted, has shaped their lives and their ancestors’ lives for thousands of years. In thirty short years much of the wealth has been stripped away and pride has taken a beating. It is, however, clear that the peoples’ feelings are as strong as their fierce determination to reclaim the Aral Sea and way of life: "I will stay here,” said one Aralsk local. “My family will stay here. The water will come back, the fish will come back and we will have work again. We hope for this, you will see."