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The disappearance of the Aral Sea: a distressing spectacle for tourists
The disappearance of the Aral Sea: a distressing spectacle for tourists
(Franceinfo)
Located between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, the Aral Sea is drying out a little more and more. This sad spectacle still attracts tourists, who come to witness the disappearance of what was the fourth largest lake in the world.
A sunrise over a suspended sea for the Aral Sea, located between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. What was the fourth largest lake in the world has been irremediably drying up since the 1960s. Some people want to witness this disappearance. “It was important to be able to come here and witness what is happening.” declares a tourist. At the origin of this catastrophe, the intensive irrigation of cotton decreed during the Soviet era. Today, in the ancient port town of Moynaq, only the carcasses of rusty boats remind us that the sea extended that far.
To fix the soils of the ancient seabed and limit salt and sand storms, the country has embarked on a vast planting program covering nearly two million hectares. The fauna found refuge in a lake located a hundred kilometers further, which still benefits from a supply of fresh water. In one generation, human action has profoundly changed the landscape around the Aral Sea.
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