Aral Sea environmental disaster
E914927
The Aral Sea environmental disaster is a catastrophic case of human-induced ecological collapse in Central Asia, where massive water diversion for irrigation caused one of the world’s largest inland seas to shrink dramatically, devastating local climates, economies, and communities.
Statements (49)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
ecological catastrophe
ⓘ
environmental disaster ⓘ human-induced environmental disaster ⓘ |
| affectedRiver |
Amu Darya
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Syr Darya NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| cause |
Soviet-era agricultural policies
ⓘ
diversion of inflow rivers ⓘ expansion of cotton monoculture ⓘ large-scale irrigation projects ⓘ unsustainable water management ⓘ |
| drivenByCountry | Soviet Union NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| impact |
air pollution from toxic dust
ⓘ
decline in agricultural productivity ⓘ harsher winters and hotter summers ⓘ local climate moderation loss ⓘ population out-migration ⓘ |
| largelyIrreversibleDamageIn | South Aral Sea NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| locatedIn |
Central Asia
ⓘ
Kazakhstan NERFINISHED ⓘ Uzbekistan NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| mainAffectedFeature | Aral Sea NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| mitigationEffort |
Kok-Aral Dam construction
ⓘ
Northern Aral Sea restoration projects ⓘ |
| mitigationEffortStart | early 2000s ⓘ |
| notableTownAffected |
Aralsk
GENERATED
ⓘ
Moynaq GENERATED ⓘ |
| partialRecoveryObservedIn | North Aral Sea NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| peakDegradationPeriod |
1980s
ⓘ
1990s ⓘ |
| primaryAgriculturalProduct | cotton ⓘ |
| recognizedAs | one of the world’s worst environmental disasters ⓘ |
| recognizedBy |
United Nations
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
World Bank NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| result |
collapse of local fisheries
ⓘ
creation of Aralkum Desert ⓘ desertification ⓘ desiccation of large parts of the sea bed ⓘ dramatic shrinkage of the Aral Sea ⓘ dust storms from exposed seabed ⓘ economic decline of fishing communities ⓘ health problems in local population ⓘ increase in salinity ⓘ loss of biodiversity ⓘ regional climate change ⓘ soil salinization ⓘ |
| startPeriod | 1960s ⓘ |
| usedAsCaseStudyIn |
environmental policy
ⓘ
sustainable development ⓘ water management failures ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.