Final answer:
The Aral Sea, once the fourth largest lake in the world, dramatically shrank due to irrigation efforts diverting the waters feeding into it. This caused desertification and the collapse of local fishing industry.
Step-by-step explanation:
The large but shrinking inland sea that borders Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan is the Aral Sea. Once the 4th-largest body of water in the world, the Aral Sea has been severely diminished due to extensive irrigation from the Amu Darya and Syr Darya Rivers. Over the past few decades, the sea has lost about 90% of its original area, transforming large portions of it into a sand desert. In Uzbekistan, part of the southern sea still exists, but it continues to shrink as water from the Amu Darya River is increasingly diverted for agricultural purposes. The eastern part of the sea, located in Kazakhstan, was completely dry by 2009.
This environmental disaster has had a significant toll on local communities, particularly in terms of fishing, which was once a thriving industry. The increased salinity of the water has led to a collapse of the local fish populations and consequently, the industry. Today, the remnants of this disaster, like abandoned fishing vessels, can still be seen stranded in the dry seabed that was once part of the Aral Sea.
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