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ARAL SEA: Ecological Crisis Becoming Health Crisis
Since the breakup of the Soviet Union, international aid agencies have conducted "countless studies" of the ecological devastation of the Aral Sea on the border of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. But according to an article in the January edition of the UNESCO Courier, relatively little help has been forthcoming, and some experts say "efforts should now focus on avoiding a humanitarian disaster."
Soviet-era irrigation projects diverted the rivers that feed the Aral Sea, causing it to shrink in and leaving huge areas of the once-fertile region "high and dry." Today, drinking water in the region contains four times more salt per liter than the limit recommended by the World Health Organization, a problem that has caused increases in kidney diseases, diarrhea and other ailments. According to the article, the region has some of the world's highest rates of infant mortality and child deformities. Tuberculosis has reached "epidemic proportions."
International agencies including the World Bank, the UN Development Program and UNESCO initially "rushed" in to offer assistance. But according to Antonius Lennarts of the World Bank, "There have been lots of donor activity and promises but no follow-up."
The World Bank has begun implementing several projects in the region, focusing on providing clean drinking water, better health care facilities and less water-intensive agricultural practices.
Medicins Sans Frontieres Getting Involved
The medical relief group Medicins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders (MSF), which is "usually associated with the world's hot spots," has launched an emergency effort to save the region's public health. "To date," an MSF report says, "millions of dollars worth of assessments have been made of the Aral Sea region, resulting in very little direct humanitarian action in the area."
The inaction has had at least one positive effect: Regional governments have taken the initiative to find their own solutions. Kazakhstan raised the money to build a sand dam in the northern Aral Sea, raising the water level there by three meters. Now Kazakhstan is seeking $15 million from the World Bank to build a more permanent dam.
The situation has also helped improve relations among the Central Asian states. "Now ... we are realizing the importance of cooperation," says Anatoly Buranov,the technical director of the International Aral Sea Rehabilitation Fund, a regional coordination body.Lloyd-Roberts/Anbarasan, UNESCO Courier,
January 2000