Opening talk for the conference Exchanging Lessons of the Aral Sea disaster

1. Michael R. Edelstein, Ph.D.
Ramapo College of N.J.

2. TMU: TRUST FOR MUTUAL RAMAPO COLLEGE OF NEW JERSEY AND
SAMARKAND STATE ARCHITECTURAL
UNDERSTANDING AND CIVIL ENGINEERING INSTITUTE
 Funded by the Trust for
Mutual
Understanding, we
embarked on the first
leg of an exchange
that, in its second
phase, led to this
conference.

3. IN MAY 2011 A JOINT TEAM SET OUT IT WAS A LONG TRIP ACROSS
FROM SAMARKAND TO FIND THE MUCH OF THE COUNTRY OF
ARAL SEA UZBEKISTAN
Along the Way New Dimensions of the Disaster Appeared

4. Searching for the
Vanished Sea
The Aral Sea was, until
fifty years ago, the
world’s fourth largest
inland body of water.
Today it is nearly gone.
How could that happen?
Where did it go?
What were the causes?
What are the
consequences?
What can be done now?

5. http://lib.utexas.edu/maps/commonwealth/uzbekistan_rel94.jpg

6. Falling Waters
The Syr darya just
west of Tashkent

7. Falling Rivers
The Amu darya in
the Karakalpak
Autonomous Region

8. Sardoba in Noveye:
the Oasis

9. The Cash Mono Crop:
Cotton

10. Irrigation, waterlog
ging, salinization,
soil washing

13. Fishery
Collapse =
Economic
Collapse

14. Poverty In
Karakalpakistan
Destitute
city of
Moynak

15. Nomads were affected
by decreasing water =
less pasturage

16. Climate Change, Snow
Melt, and Trans
Boundary Conflicts

17. Source:
National
Geographic
November 10, 2010

18. Blowing Sands and Contaminated food
and Water Create Threats to Health

19. Preserving World
Heritage Archeological
Sites