When a sea of what once was 60,000 square kilometers may totally dry up in 10 years time because of man's usage and abuse of resources, it's a major ecological disaster, that needs to be addressed," according to graduate student Gulbakhar Izentaeva, a Muskie Scholar from the former Soviet Union, now earning her master's degree in the Institute for Public Administration.

The problems of the Aral Sea in Central Asia affect Izentaeva personally, because her homeland, the Republic of Karakalpakstan, borders the sea, whose resources have been drastically depleted during the past few decades.

Working with Gerald Kauffman, Water Resources Agency, Izentaeva has helped prepare the first comprehensive watershed map of the Aral Sea Basin, and the two are developing a watershed-based management plan to deal with the water problems in the area.

"The way the Aral Sea is now, it's as if the Great Salt Lake dwindled down to half its size," Kauffman pointed out, "and the problems are getting worse. Amu Darya and Syr Darya, the rivers which feed the Aral Sea, are similar to our Colorado River, flowing through semi-arid countryside. The headwaters rise in China, Afghanistan and Iran, and the rivers flow through Kyrgystan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Kazakstan, parts of the former Soviet Union.

"Along the length of the rivers, the countries of the former Soviet Union have siphoned off the water in canals for irrigation for growing cotton and rice, and the amount of water flowing into the sea has decreased significantly and the surrounding area has become desert," he said. "Another problem is the irrigation water filters through the salt in the soil that is present and the runoff back to the rivers increases the salinity of the water."

"When I was child, we were able to go swimming in the Aral Sea," Izentaeva said. "Now the shoreline has receded about 25 miles and there is no way to get to the sea. What used to be the sea is now a cemetery of boats, which are literally high and dry. The fishing industry has disappeared; farming has dwindled; and the health of the people is suffering, with the prevalence of such diseases as hepatitis, tuberculosis, and particularly anemia which affects 98 percent of the people living in the area. Underground nuclear testing in the area by the Soviet Union also contributed to the problems," she said.

An article on the Aral Sea appearing in the Philadelphia Inquirer in 1999 pointed out the irony that most people in the area were healthy, with an abundance of food and good incomes, before the Soviet Union built canals that drained the sea.

In 1995, the United Nations held a conference about the Aral Sea, but there is civil war and political unrest in the region that have overshadowed the environmental and health issues, which have been put on hold, according to Izentaeva.

"The depletion of the Aral Sea Basin is a complex, international problem that can only be solved by cooperation between the countries that are affected," Kauffman said. "Gulbakhar and I are developing a plan for the region based on modern water management organizations in the U.S., such as the Delaware River Basin Commission, where the upstream governments are represented and have the authority to protect and control the use of the rivers. Hopefully, in the future there may come a time when our plan can be the basis for solutions to the problems of the Aral Sea."

Izentaeva, who studied Russian language and literature at the University of Ukraine and speaks several of the languages in Central Asia as well as English, was involved in the issues surrounding the health of women and children in Karakalpakstan before coming to Delaware.

She said she plans to return home after her stay in Delaware and said she hopes to bring attention to the plight of the Aral Sea Basin and help to promote the changes that are needed.

–Sue Moncure

Photo by JACK BUXBAUM