06 April, 2010

Environmental Disasters

Upon reading this news article, I could not believe that the once world's fourth largest lake has dried up due to human activities. The dried up lake has affected severely the once-robust fishing economy in the area. The sign of catastrophe could be seen as fishing trawlers are stranded in sandy wastelands.

It could be considered as a major environmental disaster of the current time. It was reported that the lake dried up to almost 90% since the river that used to supply the water had been diverted for irrigation purposes.

The river was diverted to boost cotton production in the arid region.

The scarcity of water will be a major source of competition as global warming and rising populations further reduce the amount of water available per capita.

Even in the areas where the rainfall is very high, the shortage of water is still inevitable during draught season. The proper management of water is urgently required to properly mange the abundant of water during rainy season to be distributed during draught season.


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