Terra Firma: Dictatorship Drained A Sea

Democracy saved a river

This is the Aral Sea.

Or, what was the Aral Sea. Sitting on the border between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, it was once the world’s fourth-largest lake. It is now a shadow of its former self, having receded by 90 per cent since the 1960s. The vast basin where the lake was is now known as the Aralkum Desert.

Species unique to the lake have gone extinct as the waters disappeared and salt levels soared, making it uninhabitable.

The livelihoods of people who lived along the lake’s shores vanished. The primary fishing port of Aral is now 15 km from the sea. The town of Moynaq is 150 km from the sea. It is now a disaster tourist destination.

This is the sea in August 1985: