Tony Whitten, a wildlife biologist working with the World Bank, has produced two videos documenting some of the efforts a team of scientists and officials are taking to increase the size of Lake Aibi, a rift lake located near the border between Xinjiang and Kazakhstan. In the first video, Whitten covers some of the characteristics of the lake along with some of the challenges of meeting the goals of this joint project between the World Bank and Xinjiang’s local government. Rainfall in the region is low, and the lake, which originally was fed by glacier water coming off the Tian Shan, is now shrinking rapidly in part due to pressure on water systems placed by the local cotton industry and water distribution practices among local farmers. The shrinking lake is in turn causing massive salinization in areas formerly covered by the lake and surrounding the lake’s former periphery.
Whitten and his associates later visited the Kazakh village of Kokobasto, located on the north side of the lake, to pursue further research on human impact on the local ecosystem and, conversely, the potential impact conservation efforts could have on local herding populations. The villagers’ plight is an interesting one, originally nomadic herders, the Kazakhs at Kokobasto held permits to graze their herds within Tuoli County to the north, but the depletion of those grazing lands have forced the Kazakhs to graze their animals within the nature reserve around Lake Aibi. Governmental officials are trying to find ways and provide incentives to "permanently settle" the herders. More on this at Whitten’s blog. Also, Whitten’s video of and commentary on visits with community locals:
