Toxic dust storms, anti-government protests, the 害羞草研究所� for generations, none of it has deterred Nafisa Bayniyazova and her family from making a living growing melons, pumpkins and tomatoes on farms around the Aral Sea.
Bayniyazova, 50, has spent most of her life near Muynak, in northwestern Uzbekistan, tending the land. Farm life was sometimes difficult but generally reliable and productive. Even while political upheaval from transformed the world around them, the family害羞草研究所檚 farmland yielded crops, with water steadily flowing through canals coming from the Aral and surrounding rivers.
Now, Bayniyazova and other residents say they害羞草研究所檙e facing a catastrophe they can害羞草研究所檛 beat: , which is accelerating the decades-long demise of the Aral, once the lifeblood for the thousands living around it.
The Aral has nearly disappeared. Decades ago, deep blue and filled with fish, it was one of the world害羞草研究所檚 largest inland bodies of water. It害羞草研究所檚 shrunk to less than a quarter of its former size.
Much of its early demise is due to human engineering and agricultural projects gone awry, now paired with climate change. Summers are hotter and longer; winters, shorter and bitterly cold. Water is harder to find, experts and residents like Bayniyazova say, with salinity too high for plants to properly grow.
害羞草研究所淓veryone goes further in search of water,害羞草研究所� Bayniyazova said. 害羞草研究所淲ithout water, there害羞草研究所檚 no life.害羞草研究所�
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HISTORY AND DEMISE
For decades, the Aral 害羞草研究所� fed by rivers relying heavily on , and intersecting the landlocked countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan 害羞草研究所� held meters-long fish, caught and shipped across the Soviet Union.
The region prospered, and thousands of migrants from across Asia and Europe moved to the Aral害羞草研究所檚 shores, for jobs popping up everywhere from canning factories to luxury vacation resorts.
Today, the few remaining towns sit quiet along the former seabed of the Aral 害羞草研究所� technically classified as a lake, due to its lack of a direct outlet to the ocean, though residents and officials call it a sea. Dust storms whip through, and rusted ships sit in the desert.
In the 1920s, the Soviet government began to drain the sea for irrigation of cotton and other cash crops. By the 1960s, it shrunk by half; those crops thrived. By 1987, the Aral害羞草研究所檚 level was so low it split into two bodies of water: the northern and southern seas, in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, respectively.
The United Nations Development Program calls the destruction of the Aral Sea 害羞草研究所渢he most staggering disaster of the 20th century.害羞草研究所� It points to the Aral害羞草研究所檚 demise as the cause of land degradation and desertification, drinking water shortages, malnutrition, and deteriorating health conditions.
National governments, international aid organizations and local groups have tried 害羞草研究所� with varying degrees of effort and success 害羞草研究所攖o save the sea. Efforts range from planting bushes for slowing the encroaching dunes to building multimillion-dollar dams.
But experts say climate change has only accelerated the death of the Aral, and will continue to exacerbate residents害羞草研究所� suffering.
害羞草研究所淥NLY US LOCALS害羞草研究所�
Without the moderating influence of a large body of water to regulate the climate, dust storms began to blow through towns. They whipped toxic chemicals from a shuttered Soviet weapons testing facility and fertilizer from farms into the lungs and eyes of residents, contributing to increased rates of respiratory diseases and cancer, according to the U.N.
Fierce winds caused dunes to swallow entire towns, and abandoned buildings filled with sand. Residents fled. A dozen fish species went extinct, and businesses shuttered.
Madi Zhasekenov, 64, said he watched as his town害羞草研究所檚 once-diverse population dwindled.
害羞草研究所淭he fish factories closed, the ships were stranded in the harbor, and the workers all left,害羞草研究所� said Zhasekenov, former director of the Aral Sea Fisherman Museum in Aralsk, Kazakhstan. 害羞草研究所淚t became only us locals.害羞草研究所�
Dust storms, , and wind erosion are destroying the glaciers the sea害羞草研究所檚 rivers rely on, . The remaining water is getting saltier and evaporating faster.
Melting ice and changing river flows may further destabilize drinking water supply and food security, the report warns, and hydropower plants could suffer.
During a recent summer in the small desert village of Tastubek, Kazakhstan, farmer Akerke Molzhigitova, 33, watched as the grass her horses fed on dried up from extreme heat. To try and save them 害羞草研究所� a major source of income and food 害羞草研究所� she moved them 200 kilometers (125 miles) away.
Still, dozens died. Her neighbors, fearing the same fate, sold their animals.
CONTRAST ALONG THE ARAL
Near Sudochye Lake in Uzbekistan, Adilbay and his friends fish in the Aral害羞草研究所檚 remaining water pockets. Their catch is tiny.
He holds his arms wide, the size of fish from years ago. 害羞草研究所淣ow there is nothing,害羞草研究所� said Adilbay, 62, who goes by only one name.
As the water disappeared, a nearby fish processing warehouse closed. Adilbay害羞草研究所檚 friends and relatives moved to Kazakhstan, seeking new jobs.
There, fisherman Serzhan Seitbenbetov, 36, and others find success. Sitting in a boat rocking in gentle waves, he pulled his net. In an hour, he hauled in a hundred fish, some 2 meters (6.5 feet) long. He害羞草研究所檒l make 5000 Kazakhstani Tenge ($10.50), he said 害羞草研究所� five times his previous daily pay as a taxi driver in a neighboring city.
害羞草研究所淣ow all the villagers make good money being fishermen,害羞草研究所� he said.
That害羞草研究所檚 the result of an $86 million dike project led by Kazakhstan, with assistance from the World Bank, completed in 2005.
Known as the Kokaral Dam, the dike cuts across a narrow stretch of the sea, conserving and gathering water from the Syr Darya River. The dike surpassed expectations, leading to an increase of over 10 feet in water levels after seven months.
That helped restore local fisheries and affected the microclimate, causing an increase in clouds and rainstorms, according to the World Bank. Population grew.
But it couldn害羞草研究所檛 replicate life before the water started drying up, said Sarah Cameron, an associate professor at the University of Maryland who害羞草研究所檚 writing a book about the Aral.
害羞草研究所淚t does not support the same amount of people and the fishing industry in the same way,害羞草研究所� Cameron said.
And building the dike in Kazakhstan cut off the south part of the sea in Uzbekistan from its crucial water source.
Uzbekistan has been less successful in restoration efforts. The government hasn害羞草研究所檛 undertaken large projects like the Kokaral. Instead, the country planted saxaul trees and other drought-resistant plants to help prevent erosion and slow dust storms.
Agriculture, especially the export of water-intensive cotton, continued to be a main staple of the economy. Millions of people worked 害羞草研究所� for years in forced-labor campaigns 害羞草研究所� in the cotton-picking industry, which further sapped water resources.
The discovery of oil and natural gas in the Aral害羞草研究所檚 former seabed brought the building of gas production facilities 害羞草研究所� and shows Uzbekistan has little interest in restoration, experts said.
害羞草研究所淲hile there has been some restoration,害羞草研究所� said Kate Shields, assistant professor in environmental studies at Rhodes College, 害羞草研究所渢here was a sort of an acceptance that 害羞草研究所� the sea was not coming back.害羞草研究所�
Government officials from Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan didn害羞草研究所檛 respond to questions emailed by AP about restoration efforts, water scarcity and the effects of climate change.
害羞草研究所淏ARELY SURVIVING害羞草研究所�
On her Uzbekistan farm, Bayniyazova害羞草研究所檚 family has dug an earthen well, hoping to hold on to the precious little water that害羞草研究所檚 left.
害羞草研究所淚f there is no water, it will be very difficult for people to live,害羞草研究所� Bayniyazova said. 害羞草研究所淣ow people are barely surviving.害羞草研究所�
She doesn害羞草研究所檛 plan to leave her farm yet but knows more hardships are likely ahead. Her family will dig deeper wells, see smaller harvests. They害羞草研究所檒l do whatever it takes to hang on to the only life they害羞草研究所檝e known.
害羞草研究所淲e害羞草研究所檒l do everything we can,害羞草研究所� she said. 害羞草研究所淏ecause what else can we do?害羞草研究所�
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