Aral Sea
Uzbekistan – 1997

A selection of photographs taken by Francesco Zizola in Uzbekistan in 1997.

The Aral Sea was one of the largest lakes in the world. But in the 1950s, the Soviet Union decided to cultivate cotton in the region. It is now about a third of its former size in area and less than an eighth in volume because of excessive river diversions which were necessary for producing cotton in the desert. This, together with the massive use of pesticides, resulted in an unprecedented ecological and health disaster.

The rate of infant morbidity as well as the rates of maternal and child mortality in this region are 10 times higher than in Europe. Nearly 90% of the adolescents are anemic, 30% have kidney disease, 23% have thyroid deficiency and 20% have chronic hepatitis. One in three women has had a stillborn child. More than 90% of pregnant women have severe anemia and 30% of childbirths have complications due to hypertension during their pregnancy. Thus, 36% of births are considered pathological and no child is born in good health around the Aral Sea today.

This reportage received an honorable mention in the Hansel-Mieth Prize (Germany) in 2004.