Long time Registan.net readers know that I like to keep tabs on the lakes of Central Asia. Back in the spring I shared my paper on Balkhash, and today I have a story from Centrasia.ru, sent to me by a friendly professor, comes the following story.
Обмелеет ли Балхаш, как Арал. Судьбой крупнейшего казахстанского озера заинтересовались и иностранные ученые
[My Russian isn't that good, but I would translate this as:
Is Balkhash getting shallower like Aral? The fate of Kazakhstan’s largest lake interests foreign scholars.
If you can’t read Russian, I have a link for you. It’s from Google translate, which is questionable at best. The thing to keep in mind is that the focus of the story is on the River Ili (Или). Unfortunately, that is also the Russian word for “or.”
The gist of the story is that a journalist has rounded up quotes from local fisherman, domestic scientists, and civil society members, who are warning that the water level continues to drop, fish are becoming more scarce, and with China’s plans in Xinjiang, the lake will soon reach the point of no return. Specifically:
При самом худшем сценарии, предполагают ученые, Балхаш в наиболее узкой точке может разделиться пополам и повторить судьбу пересыхающего Арала.
“Worst case scenario, suggest the scientists, Balkhash will split at the narrowest point and repeat the fate of the dried-up Aral.”
This post was written by...
Michael Hancock-Parmer – author of 153 posts on Registan.net.
Michael earned an MA in Central Eurasian Studies in 2011 and remains a student at Indiana University pursuing a dual PhD in Russian History and Central Eurasian Studies. He served 6 months in the Peace Corps in Uzbekistan in 2005. After the events in Andijan and the subsequent closure of the program, he served 2 years in southern Kazakhstan, returning to the Midwest in 2007. His general area of interest is on post-Timur Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, centered on the Syr Darya river valley.