Geography of Uzbekistan in power but also to the very survival of Uzbekistan, the increasingly grave environmental threat will not be addressed effectively. The Government of Uzbekistan joined forces with Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan in 1992 to form the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS) and in 1993 to form the Interstate Council on the Problems of the Aral Sea Basin (ICAS). The ICAS was formed to work with the World Bank in order to improve the conditions of the Aral Sea, but was disbanded in 1997 to form IFAS. The Uzbekistan government along with NGOs and U.S. international donors
Seto Inland Sea Channel, which in turn connects to the Pacific Ocean. The western part of the Seto Inland Sea connects to the Sea of Japan through the Kanmon Straits and to the Pacific through the Bungo Channel. Each part of the Seto Inland Sea has a separate name in Japanese. For example, refers to the strait between Ehime, Yamaguchi, and Ōita prefectures in the western portion of the sea; is the open expanse west of the Geiyo Islands, near Hiroshima prefecture; and refers to the expanse between Yamaguchi prefecture and Suō-Ōshima. There are also many straits located between the major islands, as