Ban laments decline of Aral Sea

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, April 5 (UPI) -- Declining water levels in the Aral Sea in Central Asia are a sign that action is needed to save the Earth's natural resources, U.N. leaders said in Uzbekistan.

"It is clearly one of the worst environmental disasters of the world," said U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. "It really left with me a profound impression, one of sadness that such a mighty sea has disappeared."

Ban made his comments following an aerial tour of the Aral Sea. The Central Asia sea lake was one of the largest in the world before irrigation projects drained the waterway by more than 70 percent.

The secretary-general said the toxicity of the land and effects on the regional ecosystem was a wake-up call, Ban's office reported.

"It was a vivid testament to what happens when we waste our common natural resources, when we neglect our environment, when we mismanage our environment," he said.

He praised efforts under way by leaders in Central Asia to spearhead an international fund to save the Aral Sea, calling it a model for global leadership.

"We should become better stewards in managing the environment," he said. "We must deliver this Planet Earth to our succeeding generations, so that they can live in a more hospitable, in a more environmentally sustainable way."