The Aral Sea – Beyond the Disaster

The Aral Sea was the fourth largest lake in the world. It’s own name, Aral, in Turkic and Mongolic languages means “island”. For the ancient people living there, the Aral Sea was an island of water in this desert central Asia area. But this was the past. Today the lake is only 10% of the original size as it has been shrinking since the 1960s after the rivers that fed it were diverted by Soviet Union irrigation projects. The effect of this thoughtless decision was the splitting of the lake in the North Aral Sea (Kazakhstan) and the South Aral Sea (Uzbekistan). In an ongoing effort to save and replenish the North Aral Sea, Kazakhstan in 2005 built the Dike Kokaral dam. Water level in this part of Aral risen and salinity dropped so fish numbers were improved. But this solution probably accelerated the end of South Aral Sea, as satellite images actually show. The water line is drawing back progressively, leaving a new desert, the Aralkum Desert.
The shrinking of the Aral Sea is undoubtedly one of the planet’s worst environmental disasters. It broke local environment and afflicted a huge area all around. The once-prosperous fishing industry has been devastated, bringing unemployment and economic hardship. Moreover the followed pollution brought serious health problems to the population. Climate change affects the region and salty water of the drying sea killed most of life forms. On the other end, important natural gas deposits have been discovered under the dry seabed of the Aral. Several gas stations were opened to extract the precious resource and kilometres of pipelines settled. The historical documents concerning the development and the death of the Aral Sea are now part of UNESCO “Memory of the World Register”.

There is plenty of resources, articles and documentaries concerning Aral Sea disaster. The aim of this short film is different. I desired to look beyond. Visiting this unlucky area, I tried to catch the survived beauty of Nature, the marks witnessing its power, any sign feeding the hope that once things could change. It’s not easy there but not impossible. Nature reserves always some wonders even where destruction seems absolute.
At the end of the excursion, I came back with just a simple belief: This Planet will survive despite us.

Located in Karakalpakstan, an autonomous republic in north-west Uzbekistan, to reach the Aral Sea usually you start from Nukus, the main town, joining a guided tour. Following the road that runs northward to Russia, your first stop will be surely Moynaq. This town was once on an island surrounded by the lake waters. Actually the seaside is 120 kilometres far. Here is the famous Ship Cemetery and an interesting museum where you can see the life in town as it was before the disaster. To reach the Aral Sea beach, then, the trail crosses the dry seabed, a boundless salty land now called Aralkum Desert. The last part of the trip is on the Ustyurt Plateau, the ancient cliffs once facing the sea waves. From there, after several hours of driving, you’ll see the Aral water for the first time. It takes almost the entire day to reach the waterfront so probably you’ll have to overnight by the sea. There are some Yurt Camps in the zone. I’m sure you won’t forget the night spent there.

To catch the best from a trip like this, it is fundamental to rely on local resources. So we did. We found a higher level of competence I could not imagine. It is mandatory for me to thank some of them here. Responsible Travel is an Uzbek tour operator located in Jizzakh but contactable from every part of the world (www.nuratau.com). It was our referent for logistic, tour planning, transports, etc. Ask of Mr. Sherzod Norbekov, whatever you may need he will find the best solution for you.
The Aral sea expedition was unforgettable thank to Utepov Sarsenbay Joldasbayevich, simply Sarsen for friends, of Aral Sea Tours (www.aralseatours.com). If you want to explore Karakalpakstan, ask him. He is the top. And ask for Kolja, our driver, when you travel “on the road” it is important to trust in good drivers like him.
A special thank is for Aral Sea Yurt Camp staff. They reserved to us a warm hospitality I cannot forget.

Some technical information. Mostly for filming I used an Olympus OM-D EM5 MKII mirrorless camera and a GoPro Hero 7 black. Some short clips from the car however have been filmed using an I-phone 7. For Colour grading, post-production and editing, I used Cyberlink Powerdirector suite 5, as always. Photos, in this film are mostly by Francesca Sparatore, with her Nikon D3100.
The track “Parzifal” is by and is available on YouTube Audio Library.