Geography of Uzbekistan
The physical environment of Uzbekistan is diverse, ranging from the flat, desert topography that comprises almost 80% of the country's territory to mountain peaks in the east reaching about 4,500 metres (14,800 ft) above sea level.
[1] The southeastern portion of Uzbekistan is characterized by the foothills of the Tian Shan mountains, which rise higher in neighboring Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan and form a natural border between Central Asia and China.
[1] The vast Qizilqum (Turkic for "red sand"—Russian spelling Kyzyl Kum) Desert, shared with southern Kazakhstan, dominates the northern lowland portion of Uzbekistan.
[1] The western end of the valley is defined by the course of the Syr Darya, which runs across the northeastern sector of Uzbekistan from southern Kazakhstan into the Qizilqum.
[citation needed] Another important feature of Uzbekistan's physical environment is the significant seismic activity that dominates much of the country.
[1] The desiccation and salinization of the lake have caused extensive storms of salt and dust from the sea's dried bottom, wreaking havoc on the region's agriculture and ecosystems and on the population's health.
[1] Regional experts assert that salt and dust storms from the Aral Sea have raised the level of particulate matter in the Earth's atmosphere by more than 5%, seriously affecting global climate change.
[1] An official in Uzbekistan's Ministry of Environment estimated that about half of the country's population lives in regions where the water is severely polluted.
[1] Salt and dust storms and the spraying of pesticides and defoliants for the cotton crop have led to severe degradation of air quality in rural areas.
[1] Air pollution data for Tashkent, Farghona, and Olmaliq show all three cities exceeding recommended levels of nitrous dioxide and particulates.
[1] High levels of heavy metals such as lead, nickel, zinc, copper, mercury, and manganese have been found in Uzbekistan's atmosphere, mainly from the burning of fossil fuels, waste materials, and ferrous and nonferrous metallurgy.
[1] Especially high concentrations of heavy metals have been reported in Toshkent Province and in the southern part of Uzbekistan near the Olmaliq Metallurgy Combine.
[17] An example is the metallurgical complex at Almalik in Uzbekistan that manufactures metals and has waste storage sites in surrounding areas, which pollute the soil, groundwater, and air with high amounts of copper, zinc, arsenic, lead, and cadmium.
The mining complexes in Uzbekistan have created toxic waste that has spread through the land, groundwater, air, waterways, and soil.
The island was decontaminated by the Russian military, Government of Uzbekistan, and U.S. experts because of the health and environmental dangers it could have caused with its new connection to the land.
[19] The government of Uzbekistan has acknowledged the extent of the country's environmental problems,[1] and it has made a commitment to address them in its Biodiversity Action Plan.
[1] Various nongovernmental and grassroots environmental organizations also have begun to form, some closely tied to the current government and others assuming an opposition stance.
[1] For example, environmental issues were prominent points in the original platform of Birlik, the first major opposition movement to emerge in Uzbekistan.
[1] The obstacles are a lack of law enforcement in these areas, inconsistent government economic and environmental planning, corruption, and the overwhelming concentration of power in the hands of a president who shows little tolerance of grassroots activity.
[1] But the country's environmental problems are predominantly the result of abuse and mismanagement of natural resources promoted by political and economic priorities.
