Aral Sea Timeline

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
2003: 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 Trent pdf)