The human activities leading to the disappearance of the Aral Sea — once the world’s fourth largest inland water body — is making it the worst man-made environmental disaster, according to the United Nations. Concerned over the prevailing scenario and crisis, the World Bank has granted a multi-million dollar loan to the Kazakhstan government to help save the Sea.
The loan-money will be used in implementing the second stage of a project, which is aimed at saving the sea’s northern part. This new project could provide hope that at least part of the Aral will be saved. Ambitious, the project is aimed at reversing one of the worst environmental disasters of the world.
And, as a result, the sea is already filling the desert, defying the thought and fear of many, who predicted that it could never return. The communities in the area are already experiencing the impact – with the fishermen getting back in their boats and the clouds and the rain returning again.
Many living across this impoverished region seem to be optimistic as their not seeing the future hopeless.