How Kazakhstan brought its dead Aral Sea back to life

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02:06

The Aral Sea – once the world's fourth largest lake – is also the site of the world’s worst man-made disasters. In the 1960s, a massive irrigation project diverted its water elsewhere, causing the lake to shrink and eventually dry up.

As Aralsk mayor Mukhtar Urazbayev recounted to CGTN's Assignment Asia: "At the end of 1970s the water started to run dry. Aral city was a seaport. The water ran dry for 100 to 150 kilometers from the city. The bottom of the sea turned to dust."

The Aral Sea became a graveyard for ships, and stayed that way for decades, despite attempts by five Central Asian States to restore it.

At one time, the world’s fourth largest lake became a graveyard for ships. /CGTN Photo

The catastrophic effects

The ecological disaster was devastating for fishermen and their families. Many were forced to either drive over 90 kilometers to reach the coast, move to a different city, or learn a new skill to find new employment.

Apart from the blow to their livelihoods, many also suffered health problems.

As Aralsk guide Akmaral Utemisova recalled: "It is very a difficult situation. When you live in Aral, you breathe with salt and dust all the time."

Added Aralsk mayor Mukhtar Urazbayev: "The dust that rose to the air from the dried bottom polluted the environment. Babies were born sick and small children got sick as well."

The restoration process

In recent years, the World Bank financed the construction of the Kokaral dam with the support of the Kazakh government.

Completed in 2005 at a cost of 86 million US dollars, the dam restored water levels in the Northern Aral Sea.

According to Aina Baimakhanova, director of the NGO Aral Tenzy, the process happened gradually as it took about five to six years for both the water as well as the diversity of fish to increase.

At its peak, the Aral Sea was abundant in fish, and cities around it depended on it for their livelihood. /CGTN Photo

To help lure back local fishermen, local groups tried to improve the fishing production system, such as building dish-docking station on the shore to prevent the fish from getting spoiled before they reached factories.

Life returning to normal

Even though the restoration could not bring back the city's former glory, it has restored the livelihoods of residents.

Fisherman Batyrkhan Aisarov now wakes at 5:00 a.m. and starts to put the nets out at 7:00 a.m. He usually checks again at noon to assess and hurl his catch.

The father of five added: "life in our village improved. Now, we even live better than people in other villages."

Mayor Mukhtar Urazbayev is proud of the quality of the city's fish products, many of which are exported to Russia, Georgia and other Baltic countries.

In the first half of 2017, over 1,700 tons of fish were caught. More than 3,000 fishermen now work in Aral. /CGTN Photo

Challenges ahead

As water fills the lake once again, hopes are once more seeping into the hearts of residents living in this now-thriving fishing community.

However, challenges remain, the biggest of which is the risk of overfishing.

The concern is shared by Akmaral Utemisova, who noted that the fish supply has been on a constant decline. She added: "Scientists are worried and started to research the Aral Sea, including the stock and types of fishes. They are also educating the fishermen not to catch all fishes, such as the larger ones."

The World Bank is working on building a second dam, this time to bring back water to the port of Aralsk and fully restore the North Aral Sea.

(Assignment Asia is CGTN's award-winning current affairs program featuring long-form stories and documentaries on some of the most pressing issues in the region. The show airs Saturdays at 1330 and 2130 GMT, with replays every Sunday at 0630, Monday at 0130, and Tuesday at 0530.)