1. Cotton needs lots of water to grow
2. Water is taken from the rivers to irrigate (water) the cotton fields. Hardly any now reaches the Sea.
3. 10,000 fishermen have lost their jobs in the Aral Sea
4. All the water in the Aral Sea comes from two rivers.
5. The old Soviet government built 45 dams so water could be sent to the fields.
6. Cotton farming creates millions of jobs in Uzbekistan
7. The temperature is very hot – much of the water evaporates.
8. All the fish in the Aral Sea died – it was too salty
9. The Aral Sea is less than 1/10th its original size
10. The cotton grown is worth about £1 Billion each year
11. The old Soviet Government wanted to turn the desert into farmland
12. Cotton is known as white gold
13. Water was used to irrigate 7.5 million hectares of farmland
14. As the Sea dries up the area becomes hotter and drier
15. The drinking water in the region has become polluted causing widespread disease
16. Many young people have migrated (moved) away from the region
