Will The Aral Sea Ever Come Back?

Forty years of “creeping environmental problems” built up into a mammoth monster insidiously sucking the great Aral Sea virtually dry

- ANIL AGARWAL

IN SEPTEMBER 1995, the presidents of the five republics which constitute the watershed of the Aral SeaI Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan met in Nukus, the capital of Karakalpakstan, the autonomous republic of Uzbekistan (the worst affected by the tragedy). This was the fourth meeting of the presidents within three years. The objective-to deal with the Aral Sea crisis and effectively try and contain the terrible after-effects of this gigantic ecological disaster. The meeting was preceded by an international conference where the presidents called upon the international community to help them save the Aral Sea.