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the questions:

      1. Why did commercial fishing cease in the Aral Sea?

      2. Why did commercial navigation stop?

      3. Why is the region around the sea considered as "ecological disaster zone"?

      4. Why was animal husbandry damaged?

      5. What is the reason of high levels of respiratory illnesses?

      6. What does the population of the area suffer?

      7. What is the reason of the poor quality drinking water?

      8. What does the drinking water contain?

      9. What is the result of poor medical care, poor diet and lack of sewage system?

      UNIT V

      New words and expressions:

      issue (n, v) – вопрос, выпускать

      implementation – выполнение

      ensure – обеспечивать

      supply (n,v) – снабжение, снабжать,

      at least – по крайней мере

      release – выпускать

      cope – справляться

      improve – улучшать

      diversify – разнообразить

      emphasis – ударение

      means – средство

      local – местный

      care – забота, попечение , уход

      delivery – доставка

      as well as – также, тоже

      total – итог, сумма, общий, полный

      estimate – оценивать

      recession – спад

      halt – останавливать

      gradually – постепенно

      restoration – восстановление

      endemic – эндемический

      species – виды

      tolerant – терпимый

      valuable – ценный

      flourish – процветать

      assume – принимать

      rehabilitate – восстанавливать

      however – однако, тем не менее

      scheme – проект, замысел

      scope – пределы, простор, размах

      alter – переделывать, изменять

      approach – приближение, подход, подступ, приближаться

      basin – бассейн

      provision – снабжение, обеспечение

      oblige – обязывать, заставлять

      resolve – решать

      effort – усилие

      contribution – вклад

      observer – наблюдатель

      alleviate – облегчать

      involve – вовлекать

      evaluation – оценка

      deflation – спуск

      Read the international words and give their Russian equivalents:

      rehabilitation, public, pressure, central, decree, order, program, medical, service, region, ecological, condition, irrigation, system, guarantee, concept, crisis, commission, expert, economy, agriculture, production, manufacture, local, standard, stabilize, limit, total, billion, endemic, commercial, ocean, formulate, assistance, plan, credit, infrastructure, management, fund.

Rehabilitation Efforts

      Since 1986 the Aral Sea problem has become a major public issue in the former USSR. Under considerable public pressure, the former Central Government of the Soviet Union issued a decree on the Aral Sea in September 1988. It ordered development and implementation of a program to improve medical and health services in the region around the Aral Sea, ensure safe drinking water supplies, improve ecological conditions in the deltas of the Amu-Dar'ya and Syr-Dar'ya, rebuild and raise the efficiency of irrigation systems and guarantee the delivery of at least 21 cubic kilometers of water per year to the Aral Sea by 2005.

      In February 1991, the State Commission on the Aral Sea released a concept for coping with the crisis, developed by an "expert working group". It proposed a broad program intended to a) improve land and water use;

      b) diversify the economy in the Aral Sea region with less emphasis on irrigated agriculture and cotton production and light manufacturing as means of reducing water use, increasing local food supplies and improving living standards;

      c) improve health and medical care and;

      d) ensure delivery of much more water to the Aral Sea as well as stabilizing the dried bottom to limit deflation of salt and dust.

      The program was to be implemented in 3 stages: 1991-1995, 1996-2000 and 2001-2010. Total cost was estimated as nearly 60 billion (1990) rubles. The recession of the Aral Sea would first be halted and then its level gradually raised and stabilized at 40-41 m by 2010. Restoration of such a level would reconnect the small sea in the North and the large sea in the South into one water body. Also, even though the salinity would be too high for restoration of endemic fresh water species, more salt tolerant, commercially valuable species from the Black Sea, Mediterranean, or open ocean could be introduced. Past experience indicates that some of these new inhabitants would flourish and assuming the Aral Sea did not become polluted, the fishery could be rehabilitated. However, the cost of the scheme is daunting and the period of implementation, considering its scope, short.

      The break-up of the USSR at the end of 1991 altered the approach to the Aral Sea problem. The five newly independent states of the Aral Sea basin have taken full control of natural resources located on their territories. All the Aral Sea basin states are members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The CIS declared the Aral Sea problem, along with Chernobyl, an "all Commonwealth concern". In May 1992 the presidents of the CIS, meeting in Tashkent, signed an agreement on the Aral Sea which includes provisions for financing research and improvement efforts.

      An important step was taken in February 1992 with the signing by all basin states of an agreement on the joint management and protection of interstate resources. The agreement obliges the republics to work jointly to resolve ecological problems connected with the desiccation of the Aral Sea.

      In May 1992, the five republics, along with other members of the CIS, signed a ten-year agreement on cooperative efforts to improve the region's situation. An intergovernmental Aral Committee and Aral fund, which would receive contributions from all CIS members, were also created. Another agreement was signed in March 1993. It established an Interstate Council for the Aral Sea Basin Crisis with membership for all basin states and observer status for Russia.

      The Aral Sea Basin states have asked international organizations to provide aid for alleviating their problem. The World Bank has become involved, it sent an evaluation team to the region in September 1992. In March 1993 the World Bank

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