Camels by stranded ship in dry Aral Sea bed, Aralsk, Kazakhstan

These "ships of the desert" rest in the shade of a rusted ship. The ship was stranded by the retreat of the Aral Sea due to dramatic increases in upstream irrigation along the Syr Darya and Amu Darya rivers. The Aral Sea has fallen from fourth to ninth largest sea in the world.

The effect has been drastic, devastating the economy of the region which used to rely on the sea, having dramatic effects on the health of the population due to the wind-borne particulates, with huge increases in tuberculosis, asthma, and other diseases, in addition to the ecological disaster.

On the Kazakhstan side*, near the town of Aralsk, major intervention has been taking place, including the construction of a dam, partly funded by the World Bank, which has already increased the size of the northern part of the sea by more than 40 percent. (*The sea is also bordered by Uzbekistan.)

When I visited Aralsk in June 2006, I took a trip through the dry seabed to the point where sea had recovered by that time. Today, the land in this picture may already again be underwater.

These camels will be okay, though, because Kazakhstan has desert to spare.

You can read more about this hopeful story here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/09/AR2007070902072.html