Uzbekistan: This Ravaged Land by Carolyn Drake (0 images)

These photos explore the the environment and the people of Karakalpakstan, the far-western region of Uzbekistan in the Amu Darya delta. The diversion of the Amu Darya's waters for cotton irrigation throughout Central Asia began to accelerate climate change and the drying of the Aral Sea beginning in the late 1960s.
The scene is apocalyptic. What was once an oasis of rivers, lakes, marshes, forests, farming, and fishing is being overtaken by desert, salt, and dust storms. Temperatures...
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These photos explore the the environment and the people of Karakalpakstan, the far-western region of Uzbekistan in the Amu Darya delta. The diversion of the Amu Darya's waters for cotton irrigation throughout Central Asia began to accelerate climate change and the drying of the Aral Sea beginning in the late 1960s.
The scene is apocalyptic. What was once an oasis of rivers, lakes, marshes, forests, farming, and fishing is being overtaken by desert, salt, and dust storms. Temperatures and the rate of disease have risen dramatically. Instead of addressing the problems, the government continues to exploit this as an economic opportunity, exploring for natural gas in the dried Aral seabed.
Huge numbers of Karakalpak people have left to live or find work in neighbouring Kazakhstan. Once the world's fourth largest lake, the Aral Sea has shrunk to less than 10% of its original size.
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