Aral Sea problems to be discussed in Uzbekistan

The event will discuss maintaining of health and gene of the population, restoration and protection of ecosystems. Kazakh delegation will be chaired by Vice-Minister of Agriculture Yerlan Nysanbayev. The main aim of the forthcoming forum is to mobilize resources and efforts of the international community to improve the environmental and socio-economic situation in the region of the Aral Sea basin. According to organizers, the plenary session will discuss the implementation of regional projects; hear reports of the representatives of the Executive Committee of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea, heads of delegations of international organizations and donors. NOTE: By 2009, the southeastern lake had disappeared and the southwestern lake had retreated to a thin strip at the extreme west of the former southern sea; in subsequent years, occasional water flows have led to the southeastern lake sometimes being replenished to a small degree.[6] Satellite images taken by NASA in August 2014 have revealed that for the first time in modern history the eastern basin of the Aral Sea had completely dried up. The eastern basin is now called the Aralkum desert. In an ongoing effort in Kazakhstan to save and replenish the North Aral Sea, a dam project was completed in 2005; in 2008, the water level in this lake had risen by 12 m (39 ft) compared to 2003. Salinity has dropped, and fish are again found in sufficient numbers for some fishing to be viable. The maximum depth of the North Aral Sea is 42 m (138 ft) (as of 2008). The shrinking of the Aral Sea has been called "one of the planet's worst environmental disasters". The region's once-prosperous fishing industry has been essentially destroyed, bringing unemployment and economic hardship. The Aral Sea region is also heavily polluted, with consequent serious public health problems. The departure of the sea has reportedly also caused local climate change, with summers becoming hotter and drier, and winters colder and longer.