But Kazakhstan’s North Aral Sea has seen a happier outcome, thanks to a nearly $86m project financed in large part by the World Bank. Along with repairs to existing dikes around the basin to prevent spillage, an 13km dam was constructed just south of the Syr Darya River. Completed in the summer of 2005, this dam, named Kokaral, surpassed all expectations. It led to an 3m increase in water levels after just 7 months—a goal that scientists initially expected would take 3 years.

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