Lessons on cooperation building to manage water conflicts in the Aral Sea Basin; Technical documents in hydrology: pc-cp series; Vol.: 11; 2003

The Aral Sea Basin 
59 474 100 10 140 900 7 895 600 
3 181 500 
* Only provinces within the Aral Sea Basin are included 
1.4. Ecosystem Dynamics 
The large-scale development of water resources, mostly for irrigation, has changed 
the hydrological cycle in the region and caused serious environmental problems in the 
Aral Sea Basin. The most dramatic effect has been the shrinking of the Aral Sea and 
disruption of its ecosystem. Other impacts have included: 
● 
losses of biological productivity, especially of fish species in the sea, due to 
increasing salinity and toxic contamination 
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● 
degradation of river deltas 
● 
deforestation of tugay forests 
● 
transfer of dust and salts from the dried-out seabed 
● 
lowering of groundwater levels 
● 
desertification of the Aral Sea shores. 
In other parts of basin we can see: (1) soil degradation as a result of waterlogging 
and salinization of irrigated land in the catchment areas of the Aral Sea Basin; (2) 
crop diseases and insect infestation, due particularly to the cotton mono-culture 
agricultural development, (3) adverse health effects due to poor water quality and 
wind-blown chemicals from the exposed seabed, (4) erosion of land in the upper 
watershed, and (5) local climate changes. A detailed assessment of social, economic, 
and ecological consequences of the Aral Sea catastrophe has been published in the 
report of the INTAS RFBR # 1733 Project. 
The riparian states have agreed that the Aral Sea coastal region (the deltas of the 
Amu-Darya and Syr-Darya) will be considered as an independent water user whose 
requirements will be specified jointly by all the states. These requirements are to be 
defined on the basis of an approved strategy to improve the environmental situation in 
the coastal region, taking into account the year-to-year variability of river flows. At the 
same time, all the riparian states recognize the importance of environmental water 
requirements concerning both water quality and the preservation of biodiversity and bio-
productivity of natural rivers and reservoirs.