IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ARAL SEA BASIN SOCIOECONOMIC MODEL: AN ASSESSMENT OF THE OPPORTUNITIES TO BE GAINED THROUGH REGIONAL ECONOMIC INTEGRATION

摘要

The Aral Sea Basin contains some 41 million people, with 3.5 million of them living in the disaster zone which encompasses most of Karakalpakstan and the Khoresm region of Uzbekistan, the region of Dashowuz in Turkmenistan, and the south-central portion of Kazakhstan. The Central Asian states have the highest population growth rates of the former states of the Soviet Union, averaging around 2.5% a year. This is enough to double the region's population every 28 years. If current growth rates continue, the region's population is forecast to top 60 million by 2020. This will put high demands on food production and water.