Publications
Programme of measures on eliminating the consequences of the drying up of the Aral Sea and averting the catastrophe of the ecological systems in the Aral Sea region
Publication Year: 2013 Publisher: UN General AssemblyBackground
Humanity today is facing ecological problems of unprecedented scale and
destructive capacity that threaten the very existence of all living things on the
planet. It is for precisely this reason that the environment and climate change are on
the agendas of various prominent international and regional organizations, institutes,
forums and summits. The United Nations has made environmental sustainability one
of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The United Nations Conference on
Sustainable Development (Rio+20 Conference) placed environmental protection and
combating the negative impacts of climate change on the United Nations sustainable
development agenda beyond 2015.
One of the gravest global environmental disasters of modern times is the
tragedy of the Aral Sea facing the countries of Central Asia and their population of
some 60 million. Its environmental, climatic, socioeconomic and humanitarian
consequences make it a direct threat to sustainable development in the region, and to
the health, gene pool and future of the people living there. The Aral Sea region crisis
directly affects Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and affects Tajikistan
and Kyrgyzstan indirectly.
Since the 1990s, the States of Central Asia have been doing their utmost to
respond to this environmental disaster, but their resources and physical capacity fall
short, and the assistance provided by international donors remains limited and
inadequate to address fully the problems of the Aral Sea area. As the borders of the
area affected by the environmental crisis continue to expand, the scale of that crisis
will become ever more disastrous, with far-reaching consequences not only for
countries in the region but also far beyond its borders, unless additional assistance
from the international community is brought to bear.
The Aral Sea catastrophe stands as convincing evidence of the interplay
between the environment and strategic security. For this reason, the countries in the
region affected by the catastrophe are increasingly drawing the attention of the
international community to the fact that the destruction of the Aral Sea will have
damaging effects not just on the immediate area, but on the entire world.
The countries and the population of the Aral Sea region welcome the
commitment of the United Nations, and its Secretary-General to addressing global
environmental problems, including the Aral disaster. The visit of the Secretary-
General to the Aral Sea region on 4 and 5 April 2010, during which he confirmed
the global consequences of the Aral Sea crisis and the need to mobilize the efforts of
the international community to resolve it, provided clear indication of this.
Following his visit, the Secretary-General described the destruction of the Aral Sea
as “one of the worst environmental disasters in the world” and stated that its
resolution was the “collective responsibility of the whole world, not only of the
nations of Central Asia”.
destructive capacity that threaten the very existence of all living things on the
planet. It is for precisely this reason that the environment and climate change are on
the agendas of various prominent international and regional organizations, institutes,
forums and summits. The United Nations has made environmental sustainability one
of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The United Nations Conference on
Sustainable Development (Rio+20 Conference) placed environmental protection and
combating the negative impacts of climate change on the United Nations sustainable
development agenda beyond 2015.
One of the gravest global environmental disasters of modern times is the
tragedy of the Aral Sea facing the countries of Central Asia and their population of
some 60 million. Its environmental, climatic, socioeconomic and humanitarian
consequences make it a direct threat to sustainable development in the region, and to
the health, gene pool and future of the people living there. The Aral Sea region crisis
directly affects Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and affects Tajikistan
and Kyrgyzstan indirectly.
Since the 1990s, the States of Central Asia have been doing their utmost to
respond to this environmental disaster, but their resources and physical capacity fall
short, and the assistance provided by international donors remains limited and
inadequate to address fully the problems of the Aral Sea area. As the borders of the
area affected by the environmental crisis continue to expand, the scale of that crisis
will become ever more disastrous, with far-reaching consequences not only for
countries in the region but also far beyond its borders, unless additional assistance
from the international community is brought to bear.
The Aral Sea catastrophe stands as convincing evidence of the interplay
between the environment and strategic security. For this reason, the countries in the
region affected by the catastrophe are increasingly drawing the attention of the
international community to the fact that the destruction of the Aral Sea will have
damaging effects not just on the immediate area, but on the entire world.
The countries and the population of the Aral Sea region welcome the
commitment of the United Nations, and its Secretary-General to addressing global
environmental problems, including the Aral disaster. The visit of the Secretary-
General to the Aral Sea region on 4 and 5 April 2010, during which he confirmed
the global consequences of the Aral Sea crisis and the need to mobilize the efforts of
the international community to resolve it, provided clear indication of this.
Following his visit, the Secretary-General described the destruction of the Aral Sea
as “one of the worst environmental disasters in the world” and stated that its
resolution was the “collective responsibility of the whole world, not only of the
nations of Central Asia”.