Dike Kokaral
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Dike Kokaral is a planned dyke to be built across a narrow stretch of the Aral Sea, splitting off the North Aral Sea (also called "The Small Sea") from the much larger South Aral Sea ("The Large Sea").
The dike would conserve the dwindling waters of the Syr Darya river and maintain (and attempt to revive) the damaged ecology of the North Aral Sea, at the expense of sealing the fate of the larger South Aral. As the waters of the contributory rivers to the Aral have been progressively redirected for irrigation, the water levels in the Aral have fallen, the shore receded, and the water quality has dropped precipitously. The dike's proponents believe that it will allow the quality and level of the North Aral's waters to be restored, and the climate and ecology of the surrounding populated area (including the large port town of Aralsk) to be returned to their former condition.
Dike Kokaral is called after the Kokaral Peninsula, which it would connect to the other shore of Aral Sea and this way separate the northern from the southern sea. The dike was actually built from local sand, but due to lack of funding necessary to strengthen it once the water-level in the North Aral Sea (and therefore pressure to the dike) began to raise, the dike was washed away. This happened two times in 1992 and 1998. However, for the short time that the dike stood, positive changes were already noticed - the climate began to get milder, the fauna was partly restored. When the dike was washed away, the water-level fell again, as much of the water poured into the South Aral Sea. In some places the coastline of North Aral retreated by as much as a few hundred meters.
However short-lived the dike was, its concept was proven and there is an ongoing quest for funding to reconstruct Dike Kokaral.
External links
- [Discussion of the Dike and its predecessors]
- [An International Herald Tribune report of the Dike project]
- [A report of the plight of the Aral and efforts (including the dike) to reclaim it]
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