Climate change accelerates Aral’s disappearance, endangering livelihoods

The Aral Sea, once a vast expanse of blue teeming with diverse flora and fauna, has dwindled to less than a quarter of its size primarily due to climate change and other factors

The destruction of the Aral Sea, described by the United Nations Development Program as “the most shocking catastrophe of the 20th century”, has accelerated with climate change. As a result, the region’s inhabitants are witnessing the gradual depletion of their livelihoods as nature continues to perish.

He points to the disappearance of the Aral as the cause of soil degradation and desertification, drinking water shortages, malnutrition and deteriorating health conditions.

The livelihoods of the people of the region are also disappearing along with the Aral.

While the primary livelihoods of the region’s people revolve around fishing, agriculture, and animal husbandry, the depletion of water resources, the disappearance of fish species and the degradation of grazing lands are depleting their means of sustenance.

In an interview with Nafisa Bayniyazova and her family, conducted by the Associated Press (AP), Nafisa Bayniyazova, a resident of the region, reflected on the resilience of their livelihoods amidst various challenges such as dust storms, wars and the collapse of the Soviet Union.

“Farm life was sometimes difficult, but generally reliable and productive. Even as political turmoil from the collapse of the Soviet Union transformed the world around them, the family’s farmland yielded crops and water flowed continuously through canals from the rivers in and around Aral,” Bayniyazova said.

The people of the region are concerned that they are facing an insurmountable catastrophe and that climate change is accelerating the decadeslong demise of the Aral,  which was once the lifeline of thousands of inhabitants residing in its vicinity.

“We will do everything we can,” the locals say, “because what else can we do?”

According to the United Nations, toxic chemicals from a weapons testing facility that closed after the collapse of the Soviet Union and fertilizer from farms have contributed to rising rates of respiratory diseases and cancer in the region over time.

Source: Newsroom & Associated Press

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