USAID Environmental Restoration for the Aral Sea Quiz

Aral Sea Desiccation

• The unsustainable water management practices in the region, primarily driven by the Soviet Union's cotton production goals, led to the desiccation of the Aral Sea.
• The Aral Sea, once the world's fourth-largest lake, was reduced to a residual lake, with the eastern basin completely drying up.

Current Status of the Eastern Basin

• The eastern basin of the Aral Sea is completely dry and has become the Aralkum Desert, also known as the "new desert".
• Satellite images from NASA in 2014 revealed that the eastern basin had completely dried up.

Original Size and Rank

• The Aral Sea originally covered an area of around 68,000 square kilometers, ranking as the world's fourth-largest lake by size before its significant shrinkage.

Causes of Shrinkage

• The Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers were diverted for irrigation projects, leading to the shrinkage of the Aral Sea.

Environmental Impact

• The unsustainable water management practices caused a transformation in the landscape and ecosystem, resulting in the loss of biodiversity and habitat destruction.
• The Aral Sea disaster is known as one of the worst environmental disasters in the world.