Journey through the #AralSea

Saulet Sakenov, deputy director of the Kazakh Geographic Society, recently undertook a major expedition to the Aral Sea, the inland body of water - once the world’s 4th largest - to assess the current situation of what is widely regarded as one of the worst man-made environmental catastrophes of all time. Here he shares his findings with the readers of EU Reporter.

On this expedition, we carried a total of about 30 people. In the Aral Sea region, we were joined by some groups who were also to become members of the expedition. They were, the Fund for saving the Aral Sea, photographers and journalists, and people who study the tourist potential of the region. Also with us were a few scientists from the Nazarbayev University; microbiologists who studied the composition of water in the Aral Sea, and land surveyors who conducted an accurate topographical mapping of the area.

On arrival in Aralsk we spent some time in the city in order to coordinate our plans and then moved around the so-called Small Aral. The Small Aral Sea is a body of water is behind the Kokaral dam, which is used to store water in the Small Sea. It must be said that the results so far have been amazing. The Small Aral Sea has begun to recover; the salinity has dropped sharply, and fish have appeared there. This is a direct result of the construction of the Kokaral dam and we can say that the Aral Sea is now returning.

It was also interesting for us to talk with the locals. Those who live in this region, and who have a real interest. We asked about their feelings and how has the region changed. Naturally, every local resident immediately said that due to the Kokaral dam people can now breathe a sigh of relief. First of all, due to the fact that the waters of the Syr Darya come to the Aral Sea, that the sea level has risen and that the fish have appeared. In the future, of course there are plans to build a new dam, which will increase the water surface.

The water that flowed over the Kokaral dam found cavities. This formed the natural lake, where there appeared life, not only fish, but a variety of wild animals, where previously this water was simply lost. This indicates that it is now possible try to recover another part of the Aral Sea. That is why there are plans to build a new dam to try to increase the water table, and to expand the project. Our path led around the Small Aral Sea, and we could see first-hand what happened to the Aral Sea and just how the Sea affects the socio-economic situation of the people. When we arrived at the settlement, which is called Akyspe, we saw a very interesting object - a source of radon. There are so many people who go there to take radon baths. The fountain itself looks very interesting, I would even say spectacular - a three-step fountain. But the village Akyspe also produces a painful impression. It is a shining example of how quickly the desert can take over.

That is, it was almost completely overwhelmed by barchans, large crescent shaped sand dunes, and gradually this village became buried. Locals told us that if a house is no longer possible to win back from the desert, they all work together to build a new house for those who have lost their home. In this way they survive in this territory.
The agriculture also helps them survive. They breed camels, goats, sheep and cows. But the most important resource of the village is a water-well, where people can extract drinking water. In the territory of the Aral region, fresh water is considered to be the most important wealth of all.

We stopped by a few other towns, where fresh water is imported. And if the water in one day does not come, maybe because somebody did not have time to collect it, then families can be left without water and life becomes very difficult. The water situation certainly affects the quality of life of the population.

We have seen for ourselves the place that is often referred to as ‘the graveyard of ships’. This is a very interesting place, both culturally and in terms of tourism. There are ships that are left on the dried bottom of the Aral Sea and these ships are a magnet for tourists. A very large number of tourists come here. We were very surprised when we saw in the city of Aralsk at least four groups of foreign tourists who came in cars, and all of them were interested to see the graveyard of ships.

In addition, when we were on the dried bottom of the Aral Sea, the inspector of the Barsa-Kelmes Nature Reserve told us that they found ruins, which were once at the bottom of the Aral Sea. They call this place “the Kazakh Atlantis.” It turns out that once there was a settlement, in times before the Aral Sea was so great, and did not cover that territory. At first we saw only one village, but when later we found our way and explored the ancient bed of the Syr Darya River, we were able to find four more villages that our archaeologists still need to visit.

Now I will talk about research programs. Our microbiologists took water samples, which showed that the salinity is decreasing compared with what was previously found in this region. Certainly at Butakova Bay, where we took samples at four points. Analyses show that the salinity is still too high, but it is not so high as it was before. Further clear proof of the presence of fish in the Small Aral Sea is the large number of fishermen’s huts on the beach. Maybe they were poacher’s dugouts or maybe fishermen, we did not understand. But the fact remains - we have commercial fish. Also, there is now a functioning fish factory, which produces a variety of fish products.
We have also seen a very interesting thing in the Aral region. There we found Kulan, which is something like a wild Donky, as well as Gazelle, Antelope, and other large mammals.

These animals need to receive water. Although they can survive on salt water, nevertheless it is preferable to have a source of fresh water. In this regard, there are a large number of ideas for future projects. One of them is further construction of dams, which will enable snow retention, thereby increasing the amount of fresh water. We can also drill water-wells that will provide fresh water. But we had another project that was born in a part of a school project.

With us on the expedition traveled a few students who proposed to equip the animals with GPS sensors in order to understand what places the animals go most often - in these places there might be watering. It may be that there are close to the surface are suitable ground water, and the water comes to the surface, we need to expand these sources. Accordingly, it is necessary to dig nearby artesian wells and irrigate the territory.

This is a very interesting thing: On the banks of the Small Aral grows a plant, the root of which absorbs salt. These are natural collectors of salt. Then, when the salt is not enough for these plants, they die and become fertilizer for the semi-desert grass that fights desertification.

There are many future projects that can preserve the Aral Sea, but there are also agricultural projects that require large quantities of water for irrigation, and especially on the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan. There is, unfortunately, the Amu Darya river which no longer reaches the Aral Sea; this is a big challenge. On the contrary however, the Syrdarya river does flow into the Small Aral Sea, and this is where the lowest levels of salinity are to be found.

Of course, you can read many articles or look at pictures, but you can never have a deep feeling of the whole tragedy of the Aral Sea, until you find yourself in this area. And you can not understand how terrible this tragedy was.

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