Central Eurasian Environmental and Aral Studies (CEEAS) Research Group

Aral Sea Catastrophe Timeline

 

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  • 1922- Union treaty formally creates the Soviet Union

  • 1930s- Large scale building of Aral Sea irrigation canals

  • 1960s- Soviet Irrigation Policies
    (Diverted water from its two sources in order to supply water to cotton fields)

  • 1960- Aral Sea is identified as the World’s fourth largest lake (68,000 km)

  • 1960s- Commercial fishing in Aral Sea supplies 60,000 jobs (NASA)

  • 1965- Aral Sea “received about 50 cubic kilometers of fresh water per year”(NASA)

  • 1977- Aral Sea fish harvest declined by 75% (NASA)

  • 1980s- Water level decreased enough to split the Aral Sea into two bodies of water

  • 1980s- Commercial fishing industry of the Aral Sea was eliminated (NASA)

  • 1990- Aral Sea is declared the world’s worst ecological disaster of the 20th Century by United Nations Environmental Programme

  • 1991- Soviet Union collapses; five successor states in Central Asia become independent countries and must cooperate to manage regional water resources

  • 1993- Kyzyl-Orda Agreement signed.
    Established 5 Aral Sea basin regional institutions: ICWC (Interstate Commission for Water Coordination) ICAS (Interstate Council on the Aral Sea Basin) EC-ICAS (Executive Committee of ICAS) IFAS (International Fund for the Aral Sea) SDC (Sustainable Development Commission)

  • 1994- Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan sign a treaty to pledge 1% of their budget to helping the Aral Sea recover

  • 1995- Nukus Declaration signed

  • 1998- Alma-Ata Treaty signed

  • 1999- Ashgabat Declaration signed

  • 2001- World Bank Syr Darya Control and Northern Aral Sea Phase I Project approved

  • 2003- Construction of dike Kokaral
    Kazakh government announced a plan to build a concrete dam separating the two halves of the Aral Sea

  • 2003- World Bank Drainage, Irrigation and Wetlands Improvement Phase I Project approved

  • 2004- Scientists predict the Aral Sea will disappear in 15 years
             (Aral Sea’s surface Area is 25% of its original size)

  • 2006- Experts predict the Aral Sea will disappear, earlier than originally thought, by the year 2015 (see pdf)