Risks of water insecurity - Aral Sea

Sea of islands’ – 1500 islands once dotted the sea

Once the 4th largest inland sea (68000 km2)

Soviet irrigation schemes diverted water from the lakes which fed the lake in 1950s

Declining since 1960s

By 2007 lake had declined to 10% original size

Shrinking sea

Video 1

BBC article

BBC video

Back from the brink - video

Make notes or answer the following questions on the Aral Sea:

1. Why was it exploited?
2. Which stakeholders thought it was a good idea to exploit – for each say briefly why?
3. Which stakeholders are against the exploitation why?
4. What are the human welfare impacts of the exploitation of the Aral Sea?
5. What are the economic impacts of the Aral Sea exploitation?