Sub-regions, environmental problems and Part I review

Because Central Asia is a closed region surrounded by high mountains in the east and south, pollutants and salts cannot leave it, so it is ecologically vulnerable. The main problems are water shortage, salinisation of soils under irrigation, expansion of sandy deserts through uncontrolled grazing, cutting of saxaul and juniper for firewood, hunting of animals and land damage by mining. The gravest tragedy is the drying of the Aral Sea: after the water of the Amudarya and Syrdarya was taken for irrigation it shrank from the 1960s, its bed became salt marsh and sand, and salt-dust storms harm people’s health. In the recent past growing a single crop (cotton) and heavy use of chemicals also harmed soils and health. To protect nature, strict reserves, national parks and sanctuaries have been established, water-saving measures are being taken and the states cooperate by agreement.