Objective The Aral Sea and adjacent areas of Priaral'ye are situated in the north of the Central Asia economic region (473,000 km2, 3 million inhabitants). Large-scale land improvement and industrial development has converted these formerly backward areas into a major agrarian and industrial complex. The development of these activies induced from 1961 a drastic diminution of the Aral sea level (surface area reduced by 35 % and water volume by 60 %). The quality of river water is strongly deteriorated (practically unfit for drinking). Intense drying-up and salinisation of lands in delta of the rivers take place in combination with deep degradation of faunal and floral ecosystems. The desertification of this region is so pronounced that ecological situation in the region has gone beyond man's control. The climate has been largely modified, it is continentality enhanced and the average annual raised by 2-3 degree. Even the sanitary and epidemiological situation in Priaral'ye is still very serious. According to the data of the Ministry of Health of the former Soviet Union, the sick rate, especially for children and women, has increased as well as the death rate.Drying-up of the Aral Sea and desertification of Priaral'ye is due to a wrong strategy for the location of productive capacities in the sea basin, extensive water and land use, domination of cotton and rice mono-crop systems, and irrigation systems. Specific water consumption exceeds the theoretical value, which, due to evident insufficiency and neglect of collector and drain network, leads to large-scale salinisation of lands, removal of these latter out of crop rotation. Hazardous pollution with pesticides and salinisation of the main sources of drinking water in the region (Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers) goes on, combined with dumping of mineralised water from fields of adjacent areas into the rivers (fertilizers, including toxic ones (in defoliants and insecticides).The designing of the informational modelling systems for the Aral region will consist of: gathering of available data and development of GIS maps of the distribution of pollutants, land use; assessment of the ecological situation; development of specialised geo-informational system; development of groundwater models for ecological bank of models; and creation of regional Information Modelling System prototype for the risk assessment and management.The results will be: a comprehensive review and compilation of the ecological situation, along with databases and its management; a gathering of available data and the development of GIS maps (distribution of pollutants and land use); the development of computer geo-information system; the development of groundwater models for ecological databases of models, the creation of software tools for studying of long-term medical and demographical consequences of ecological disaster, environmental risk assessment for Aral region. Programme(s) IC-INTAS - International Association for the promotion of cooperation with scientists from the independent states of the former Soviet Union (INTAS), 1993- Topic(s) 5 - Earth Sciences, Environment, Energy Call for proposal Data not available Funding Scheme Data not available Coordinator Université de Poitiers EU contribution No data Address 86022 Poitiers France See on map Total cost No data Participants (1) Sort alphabetically Sort by EU Contribution Expand all Collapse all Association IZOTOP of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kazakhstan EU contribution No data Address 480050 Almaty See on map Total cost No data
