![]() Indigo, a natural dye giving an intense blue color, is a high-value crop. "So by having a high diversity of crops in the region you can improve the soil, you can improve the water balance, and you can make farmers less dependent on one or two crops, less dependent on the world market prices for these crops, and hopefully provide them with prospects for a better income."Īnother idea that will be suggested is the cultivation of the indigo plant. "The other side is soil quality, which is degrading due to many, many years of monoculture," he said. The reforesting of the land by planting quick-growing trees is also an important element in the plan, as trees protect against wind erosion, return biological material to the soil, provide food for animals, and firewood. "You have to look at water administration, distribution, irrigation, and drainage systems also the systems of water channels which are mostly built in sand, causing huge water losses." "We are trying to improve the water-use efficiency in the land-use systems, in the agricultural systems, which are at present dominated by cotton production, wheat production, and some rice - and we all know that rice is a very highly water-consuming crop, and so we try to improve the water use, but not only on the fields," he said. What is revolutionary, says Martius, is the way different ideas are being combined to create an integrated whole. What are these concepts? Martius outlines a package of measures which are not revolutionary, being mainly long-established recommmendations for environmentally-sound farming. ![]() Soon the scientists should be able to provide the Uzbek government a functioning model based on proven concepts for combatting ecological degradation, and thus rural poverty. "You have to be really present in the region to get the problem statements right in the first place, and this is what we have done so far, and now we are heading to the third phase in which we want to develop our concepts further, test them on the ground, with farmers."Īcceptance of the measures by the farmers is key, as it is they who must work to improve the soil and use less water. "We found out that many of the things being said about the Aral Sea and the problems of the region are misinterpreted," he said. Project coordinator Christopher Martius told RFE/RL that a lot of time has been spent getting to understand the problems involved. With this grim scenario in mind, scientists from Germany's Center for Development Research at Bonn University teamed up with Uzbek scientists in 2001 on a long-term project to develop ways to stop the damage. The remains of fishing boats now lie rotting in an arid landscape, and the diverted water is increasing the salinization of the irrigated soils, threatening desertification over a vast area. Restoring the original flow into the Aral Sea would ruin the livelihoods of millions of people.
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