Editing Aral Sea (section)

===Aral Sea Basin Programme - 1===
The future of the Aral Sea and the responsibility for its survival are now in the hands of the five countries: [[Kazakhstan]], [[Uzbekistan]], [[Tajikistan]], [[Kyrgyzstan]], and [[Turkmenistan]]. In 1994, they adopted the Aral Sea Basin Programme<ref name="Shawki Barghouti 2006">{{cite report|title=Case Study of the Aral Sea Water and Environmental Management Project: an independent evaluation of the World Bank's support of regional programmes|website=[[The World Bank]]|author= Shawki Barghouti|url=http://water.worldbank.org/water/publications/case-study-aral-sea-water-and-environmental-management-project-independent-evaluation-w|date=2006 |access-date= 1 November 2010}}</ref> or '''ASBP'''. The Programme's four objectives are:
*To stabilize the environment of the Aral Sea Basin
*To rehabilitate the disaster area around the sea
*To improve the management of the international waters of the Aral Sea Basin
*To build the capacity of institutions at the regional and national level to advance the programme's aims

====ASBP: Phase One====
The first phase of the plan effectively began with the first involvement from the World Bank in 1992, and was in operation until 1997. It was ineffectual for a number of reasons, but mainly because it was focused on improving directly the land around the Aral Sea, whilst not intervening in the water usage upstream. There was considerable concern amongst the Central Asian governments, which realised the importance of the Aral Sea in the ecosystem and the economy of Central Asia, and they were prepared to cooperate, but they found it difficult to implement the procedures of the plan.{{citation needed|date=May 2015}}

This is due in part to a lack of co-operation among the affected people. The water flowing into the Aral Sea has long been considered an important commodity, and trade agreements have been made to supply the downstream communities with water in the spring and summer months for irrigation. In return, they supply the upstream countries with fuel during the winter, instead of storing water during the warm months for hydroelectric purposes in winter. However, very few legal obligations are binding these contracts, particularly on an international stage.{{citation needed|date=May 2015}}

====ASBP: Phase Two====
Phase Two of the Aral Sea Basin programme followed in 1998 and ran for five years. The main shortcomings of phase two were due to its lack of integration with the local communities involved. The scheme was drawn up by the World Bank, government representatives, and various technical experts, without consulting those who would be affected. An example of this was the public awareness initiatives, which were seen as propagandist attempts by people with little care or understanding of their situation.  These failures have led to the introduction of a new plan, funded by a number of institutions, including the five countries involved and the World Bank.

====ASBP: Phase Three====
In 1997, a new plan was conceived which would continue with the previous restoration efforts of the Aral Sea. The main aims of this phase are to improve the irrigation systems currently in place, whilst targeting water management at a local level. The largest project in this phase is the North Aral Sea Project, a direct effort to recover the northern region of the Aral Sea. The North Aral Sea Project's main initiative is the construction of a dam across the Berg Strait, a deep channel which connects the North Aral Sea to the South Aral Sea. The Kok-Aral Dam is {{convert|8|mi|km|0|order=flip|abbr=off}} long and has capacity for over 29 cubic kilometres of water to be stored in the North Aral Sea, whilst allowing excess to overflow into the South Aral Sea.