It has been 50 years since the waters of the Aral Sea started to recede from the port of Moynaq. In the 60s, the soviet government decided to convert expansive Central Asia into farmland with rice, melons, wheat and above all cotton – transporting the water from the rivers Amu Daria and Sir Daria by irrigation channels that extend all over Uzbekistan and Kajistan.

The Uzbek government have continued with the irrigation policy despite the loss of what remains in the south of Aral. It hasn’t spared one moment exploiting the waters of Amu Daria despite knowing the great percentage of water because of the bad canal construction. It didn’t take long for the consequences; the sea was receding day by day for 80 years reaching 150km off the old port of Moynaq, the most important port south of Aral. The fishing industry that employed for dozens of thousands of people disappeared shortly afterwards. The inhabitants payed a high price for the common good, converting Uzbekistan in one of the world’s biggest exporters of cotton.