Aral Sea tragedy

Hard to believe that some thirty years ago, it was considered the fourth largest inland body of water on our planet, but it's true. Ancient Aral Sea was teeming with fish in this seaside resort area gathered vacationers from all over the Soviet Union. Now it is almost dried up, and his past, which now seems so unreal, resemble a giant rusty ships.

The sea, the sacrifice of cotton

From that amount, which is the sea was 60 years ago, there are only 10%, and it's not in climate change. The older generation remembers the Soviet Union decided to implement a huge agricultural irrigation project aimed at the development of the cotton industry in the area. Of the major rivers feeding the sea, began to take in water.

The Aral Sea in 1989 and 2014.

The results of man-made disaster made themselves felt 10 years later. Fish started hurting in the water has increased dramatically the percentage of salt, the sea became grow shallow each year.

Gradually, as the retreat, or rather, the disappearance of water, there began to take shape Cemetery abandoned ships, which are now like ghosts.

Gloomy romance

Today this place attracts tourists - lovers of romance and "zabroshki". It attracts photographers, while the rusty surface of the ship you can see the graffiti of dubious artistic value.

Some tourists even dare immerse the hands and feet in the remaining water, without thinking that the largest concentration of harmful substances in it. The fact is that in the Soviet period it was carried out biochemical tests. Prior to 1992, on the former island of the Renaissance (18 years ago he was connected to the mainland) was a Soviet military laboratory on the territory of which was tested in rodent biological weapons using anthrax, plague, typhus, smallpox, botulinum toxin and other terrible viruses, infections .

Many years after the closure of the landfill soil samples from the burial grounds, taken by Western scientists have shown that spores agent that causes anthrax, despite the disinfection is not completely lost. These and other microorganisms could easily fall into the water of the Aral Sea.

By the way, up to the 1940s (until here did not make a polygon), the island was a real paradise: its territory saiga herds, and fishermen lived here brought huge catches of fish that vodilas here in abundance. But with the advent of war with the entire population of the island was evicted.

The Future - The Phantom, as the sea itself

Due to the shift of the rivers, the areas around the Aral Sea, and to this day are considered to be the world's leading cotton producer. But was it worth it to sacrifice a great sea?

Alas, the river back to its original location today is problematic: it seriously hurt the life of villages and farms that had formed in the last decade.

And still there with locals and those who favor a sea rescue and his "return". Twenty-five years ago, the five states of Central Asia for the first time established the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea, and most recently the Uzbek DJ decided to launch a festival of electronic music à la Burning Man, which will be held at the Marine Cemetery Moinak. The event is aimed at drawing attention to the subject of the death of the Aral Sea. This will be the second such festival (the first took place a year ago).

In 2000, UNESCO presented a 25-year plan to restore the water supply in the region, and in 2005 the World Bank to partially finance this project. Today, in the so-called North and South Aral Sea (at drying pond, as it were divided into two parts) still have two dozen species of fish - as a symbol of the fact that life itself has always been given a road. Who knows, maybe something else can be changed?