The Aral crisis in global perspective

Abstract

The desiccation of the Aral Sea is considered to be among the worst disasters of its kind on record. However, the global list of water bodies experiencing significant desiccation, or otherwise endangered because of either unsustainable anthropogenic pressures or global climate change, is long. The negative consequences are manifold, ranging from deterioration of environmental conditions (desertification processes, increase of climate continentality) to economical and social impacts (decay of fisheries, tourism, and other related businesses). Because the Aral Sea represents an extreme case of lake degradation, insight obtained from Aral may have a broader applicability to other water bodies.