Sunday, January 7, 2024: 9:40 AM
Imperial B (Hilton Union Square)
This paper explores the causes and consequences of one of the twentieth century’s
most devastating environmental disasters, the disappearance of Central Asia’s Aral Sea. Once
one of the world’s largest inland bodies of water, the Aral Sea began to shrink dramatically in the late 1960s, when Soviet officials directed an increasing volume of water towards cotton
production. Contrary to the conventional view of the Aral Sea as a specifically Soviet tragedy, I
argue that many states and international actors played a role in the catastrophe. I analyze how the communities that lived around the sea adapted to these momentous environmental shifts. More broadly, I underscore the importance of finding more sustainable ways to produce cotton.
most devastating environmental disasters, the disappearance of Central Asia’s Aral Sea. Once
one of the world’s largest inland bodies of water, the Aral Sea began to shrink dramatically in the late 1960s, when Soviet officials directed an increasing volume of water towards cotton
production. Contrary to the conventional view of the Aral Sea as a specifically Soviet tragedy, I
argue that many states and international actors played a role in the catastrophe. I analyze how the communities that lived around the sea adapted to these momentous environmental shifts. More broadly, I underscore the importance of finding more sustainable ways to produce cotton.
See more of: Shrinking Lakes, Disappearing Seas: Water Scarcity in the 20th- and 21st-Century World
See more of: AHA Sessions
See more of: AHA Sessions