Geography of Uzbekistan in Uzbekistan is best exemplified by the catastrophe of the Aral Sea. Because of diversion of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya for cotton cultivation and other purposes, what once was the world's fourth largest inland sea has shrunk in the past thirty years to only about one-third of its 1960 volume and less than half its 1960 geographical size. 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. Desertification has led to the large-scale loss
Kazakhstan and the International Monetary Fund result, the Kazakh economy suffered. Kazakhstan responded with the depreciation of the tenge by looking into the non-oil economic sector. For example, aiding car manufacturers because or farmers for having sustained losses due to the imports of cheaper Russian goods. Kazakhstan is also vulnerable to social unrest, particularly in regions like Mangyshlak and Atyrau which depend on oil. Clashes between oil workers in western Kazakhstan and riot police in 2011 left several dead, and the Kazakh government continues to worry about this issue. The IMF has made a positive economic forecast to the Kazakh economy, expecting it's GDP to grow