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128-645: The health of lake Kamyslybas is directly affected by the Aral Sea , which experienced increasing salinization and desiccation as the result of excessive and unsustainable expansion of irrigation that have drained both the Syr Darya and the Amu Darya , the other major tributary river, and seriously damaged their deltas. Similarly to attempts to rehabilitate and preserve the lower Amu Darya delta, efforts are also underway to improve lakes such as Kamyslybas and Tushchibas . It has

256-481: A bachelor's degree in international relations . He subsequently went on to complete a Master of Public Administration degree at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in 1985. At Harvard, he studied under Joseph Nye , who remarked that Ban had "a rare combination of analytic clarity, humility and perseverance". In addition to his native Korean , Ban speaks English and French . According to

384-530: A South Korean working as an Arabic translator, was kidnapped and killed in Iraq by Islamic extremists ; and in December 2004 dozens of Koreans died in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami . Ban survived scrutiny from lawmakers and saw an upturn in his popularity when talks began with North Korea. Ban became actively involved in issues relating to North-South Korean relationships. In September 2005, as foreign minister , he played

512-557: A cease fire agreement, the international coalition of military forces would have no choice but to intervene to protect the human rights of Libyans. The Gaddafi government was eventually overthrown and Gaddafi killed in the conflict. Ban took the first foreign trip of his term to attend the African Union summit in Addis Ababa , Ethiopia, in January 2007 as part of an effort to reach out to

640-801: A deal to pledge 1% of their budgets to help the sea recover. In March 2000, UNESCO presented their "Water-related vision for the Aral Sea basin for the year 2025". By 2006, the World Bank 's restoration projects, especially in the North Aral, were giving rise to some unexpected, tentative relief in what had been an extremely pessimistic picture. Funded in part by the UNDP, implementations in Kazakhstan such as laser levelling and irrigation optimization using energy-efficient technologies has shown effectiveness. The future of

768-653: A desert shrub akin to the creosote bush ) to be collected in Aralsk for the new steamers. Saxaul wood proved not to be a suitable fuel and in the later years the Aral Flotilla was provisioned, at substantial cost, by coal from the Donbas . In the early 1960s, as part of the Soviet government plan for cotton , or "white gold", to become a major export, the Amu Darya river in the south and

896-560: A haemorrhaging wound in Darfur , unending violence in the Middle East, looming environmental disaster, escalating international terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction , the spread of HIV/AIDS . And then the more parochial concerns, such as the largely unfinished business of the most sweeping attempt at reform in the UN's history". Before starting, Kofi Annan shared the story that when

1024-669: A leading role in the diplomatic efforts to adopt the Joint Statement on resolving the North Korean nuclear issue at the fourth round of the Six-party talks held in Beijing . As foreign minister, Ban oversaw the trade and aid policies of South Korea. This work put Ban in the position of signing trade deals and delivering foreign assistance to diplomats who would later be influential in his candidacy for secretary-general. For example, Ban became

1152-531: A maximum depth of 10 meters with a coastline 116 km long at an elevation of 58 meters above sea level. It is the largest body of water in the Kamyslybas lake system. It lies in the northern part of Syr Darya 's delta , to which it is connected by a canal , and the water level in the lake is affected by fluctuations on the quantity of water from the Syr-Darya. Its salinity can fluctuate significantly, sometimes reaching

1280-603: A retired UN official, "one of Ban's biggest handicaps was his lack of fluency in English, which made it difficult for him to win over audiences in the US and elsewhere." There have also been questions, however, regarding the extent of his knowledge of French, one of the two working languages of the United Nations Secretariat . After graduating from university, Ban received the top score on Korea's foreign service exam. He joined

1408-595: A second consecutive term as Secretary-General of the United Nations. He announced his candidacy at a press conference, following a meeting with the Asian group of countries at the United Nations. Ban Ki-moon's first mandate as the Secretary-General was set to end on 31 December 2011. The five permanent Security Council members supported his candidacy. There was no declared rival for the post. On 17 June 2011, he received

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1536-575: A speech before the UN General Assembly, Ban emphasized his concerns about global warming. Ban stated, "For my generation, coming of age at the height of the Cold War, fear of nuclear winter seemed the leading existential threat on the horizon. But the danger posed by war to all humanity—and to our planet—is at least matched by climate change " (referring to Global Warming , see P:GW portal). On 3 September 2009 he further emphasized his concerns at

1664-539: A target of this very scrutinizing process", and that he was "a man of integrity". In the final informal poll on 2 October, Ban received fourteen favourable votes and one abstention ("no opinion") from the fifteen members of the Security Council. The one abstention came from the Japanese delegation, who vehemently opposed the idea of a Korean taking the role of secretary-general. Due to the overwhelming support of Ban by

1792-619: A way for the United Nations to "do more for Iraqi social and political development". On his trip, Ban visited Egypt , Israel , the West Bank , Jordan , Lebanon and Saudi Arabia , where Ban attended a conference with leaders of the Arab League and met for several hours with Omar Hassan al-Bashir , the Sudanese president who had resisted UN peacekeepers in Darfur. While Ban met with Mahmoud Abbas ,

1920-437: A year. Women and children are the most vulnerable populations in this environmental health crisis due to the highly polluted and salinated water used for drinking and the dried seabed. Toxic chemicals associated with pesticide use have been found in blood and breast milk of mothers; specifically organochlorides, polychlorinated biphenyl compounds (PCBs), DDT compounds, and TCDD. These toxins can be, and often are, passed on to

2048-533: Is Edmond Mulet of Guatemala. The appointments were part of Ban's commitment to replace top positions in his group for his second term. After beginning his second term in January 2012, Ban focused his public statements and speeches on peace and equality in the Middle East and on equality issues. The aftermath of the Libyan Civil War and other events of the Arab Spring continued to command Ban's attention with

2176-592: Is 13 kilometres (8 miles) long and has capacity for over 29 cubic kilometres of water to be stored in the North Aral Sea, whilst allowing excess to overflow into the South Aral Sea. Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon ( Korean :  반기문 ; [pan.ɡi.mun] ; born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban

2304-401: Is considered an example of ecosystem collapse . The ecosystems of the Aral Sea and the river deltas feeding into it have been nearly destroyed, largely because of the salinity being dramatically higher than ocean water. The receding sea has left huge plains covered with salt and toxic chemicals from weapons testing , industrial projects, and runoff of pesticides and fertilizer. Because of

2432-578: Is now called the Aralkum Desert . In a Kazakhstani effort to save and replenish the North Aral Sea, the Dike Kokaral dam was completed in 2005. By 2008, the water level had risen 12 m (39 ft) above that of 2003, to 42 m (138 ft). As of 2013 , salinity dropped, and fish were again present in sufficient numbers for some fishing to be viable. After the visit to Muynak in 2011, former United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called

2560-574: Is the candidate that the Security Council will recommend to the General Assembly". On 9 October, the Security Council formally chose Ban as its nominee. In the public vote, he was supported by all 15 members of the council. On 13 October, the 192-member General Assembly acclaimed Ban as secretary-general. When Ban became secretary-general, The Economist listed the major challenges facing him in 2007: "rising nuclear demons in Iran and North Korea,

2688-705: The Baltic herring ( Clupea harengus membras ), big-scale sand smelt ( Atherina boyeri caspia ), black-striped pipefish ( Syngnatus abaster caspius ), Caucasian dwarf goby ( Knipowitschia caucasica ), monkey goby ( Neogobius fluviatilis ), round goby ( N. melanostomus ), Syrman goby ( N. syrman ), bighead goby ( Ponticola kessleri ), tubenose goby ( Proterorchinus marmoratus ), grass carp ( Ctenopharyngodon idella ), silver carp ( Hypophtalmichthys molitrix ), bighead carp ( H. nobilis ), black carp ( Mylopharyngodon piceus ), and northern snakehead ( Channa argus warpachowski ). The herring, sand smelt, and gobies were

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2816-588: The Constantine completed the survey of the entire Aral Sea over the next two years. Exiled Ukrainian poet and painter Taras Shevchenko participated in the expedition and produced a number of sketches. In 1851 two newly built steamers arrived from Sweden. The geological surveys had found no coal deposits in the area so the Military Governor-General of Orenburg Vasily Perovsky ordered an "as large as possible supply" of saxaul ( Haloxylon ammodendron ,

2944-659: The English language . In 1962, Ban won an essay contest sponsored by the Red Cross and earned a trip to the United States where he lived in San Francisco with a host family for several months. As part of the trip, Ban met U.S. President John F. Kennedy . When a journalist at the meeting asked Ban what he wanted to be when he grew up, he said, "I want to become a diplomat." Ban graduated from Seoul National University in 1970 with

3072-563: The Gaza Strip . He criticized both sides, Israel for bombarding Gaza and Hamas for firing rockets into Israel. Although the 2009 Iranian presidential election was widely disputed, Ban Ki-moon sent a traditional congratulation message to the Iranian president upon his inauguration. He kept silent over the request of Shirin Ebadi to visit Iran after the crackdown on peaceful post-election protests by

3200-625: The Global Center on Adaptation , which is taking forward the commission's work through its programs. He became the first major international diplomat to throw his weight behind the Green New Deal , a nascent effort by the progressive wing of the Democratic Party in the United States to zero out planet-warming emissions and end poverty over the next decade. Ban was born on 13 June 1944 in

3328-548: The Group of 77 . He repeatedly identified Darfur as the top humanitarian priority of his administration. Ban played a large role, with several face-to-face meetings with Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir , in convincing Sudan to allow UN peacekeepers to enter the Darfur region. On 31 July 2007, the United Nations Security Council approved sending 26,000 UN peacekeepers into the region to join 7,000 troops from

3456-564: The International Criminal Court and favoured an entirely non-confrontational approach to dealing with North Korea. Ban said during his campaign that he would like to visit North Korea in person to meet with Kim Jong Il directly. Ban was viewed as a stark contrast from Kofi Annan, who was considered charismatic, but perceived as a weak manager because of problems surrounding the UN's oil-for-food program in Iraq . Ban struggled to win

3584-699: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in May 1970 and worked his way up the career ladder during the years of the Yusin Constitution . Ban's first overseas posting was to New Delhi , India, where he served as vice consul and impressed many of his superiors in the foreign ministry with his competence. Ban reportedly accepted a posting to India rather than the United States, because in India he would be able to save more money to send to his family. In 1974 he received his first posting to

3712-650: The UN reaction. Ban Ki-moon however did not take any action to stop the violence in Iran. The Libyan Civil War began in 2011, the last year of Ban's first term, and dominated his attention and public statements that year. Throughout the conflict, he lobbied for peaceful solutions to the crisis. He frequently spoke out against military action in Libya, believing that a diplomatic solution would be possible and preferable. However, he conceded that if then-leader Muammar Gaddafi refused to abide by

3840-566: The UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), which stated that the secretariat under Ban's leadership was "drifting into irrelevance". In early January, Ban appointed the key members of his cabinet. As his Deputy Secretary-General , he selected Tanzanian foreign minister and professor Asha-Rose Migiro , a move that pleased African diplomats who had concerns about losing power without Annan in office. The top position devoted exclusively to management, Under-Secretary-General for Management,

3968-478: The Ural River and transporting them overland to be reassembled at Aralsk. The first two ships, assembled in 1847, were the two-masted schooners Nikolai and Mikhail . The former was a warship; the latter a merchant vessel to establish fisheries. They surveyed the northern part of the sea in 1848, the same year that a larger warship, the Constantine , was assembled. Commanded by Lt. Alexey Butakov ( Алексей Бутаков ),

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4096-477: The death penalty imposed on Saddam Hussein by the Iraqi High Tribunal, remarking, "The issue of capital punishment is for each and every member State to decide". Ban's statements contradicted long-standing United Nations opposition to the death penalty as a human-rights concern. He quickly clarified his stance in the case of Barzan al-Tikriti and Awad al-Bandar , two top officials who were convicted of

4224-506: The fourth-largest lake in the world with an area of 68,000 km (26,300 sq mi), the Aral Sea began shrinking in the 1960s after the rivers that fed it were diverted by Soviet irrigation projects. By 2007, it had declined to 10% of its original size, splitting into four lakes: the North Aral Sea , the eastern and western basins of the once far larger South Aral Sea , and the smaller intermediate Barsakelmes Lake . By 2009,

4352-463: The monocultured and depleted soil. Forced labor was used and profits were siphoned off by the powerful and well-connected. In 2003, the South Aral further divided into eastern and western basins. The waters in the deepest parts of the sea were saltier and didn't mix with the top waters, so only the top of the sea was heated in the summer, resulting in faster evaporation than had been predicted. A plan

4480-666: The 15 countries with a seat on the Security Council. Of the seven candidates, he topped each of the four straw polls conducted by the United Nations Security Council : on 24 July, 14 September, 28 September, and 2 October. During the period in which these polls took place, Ban made major speeches to the Asia Society and the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City . To be confirmed, Ban needed not only to win

4608-728: The 1930s and was greatly increased in the 1960s. Many canals were poorly built, allowing leakage and evaporation. Between 30 and 75% of the water from the Qaraqum Canal , the largest in Central Asia, went to waste. It was estimated in 2012 that only 12% of Uzbekistan's irrigation canal length was waterproofed. Only 28% of interfarm irrigation channels, and 21% of onfarm channels have anti-infiltration linings , which retain on average 15% more water than unlined channels. Only 77% of farm intakes have flow gauges . By 1960, between 20 and 60 km (4.8 and 14.4  cu mi ) of water each year

4736-513: The 20th century prior to the irrigation, the sea's water level above sea level held steady at 53 m. By 2010 the large Aral was 27 m and the small Aral 43 m above sea level. The disappearance of the lake was no surprise to the Soviets, they expected it to happen long before. As early as 1964, Aleksandr Asarin at the Hydroproject Institute pointed out that the lake was doomed, explaining, "It

4864-517: The African Union. The resolution was heralded as a major breakthrough in confronting the Darfur conflict (although the United States labelled the conflict a " genocide ", the United Nations has declined to do so). The first phase of the peacekeeping mission began in October 2007. Ban Ki-moon flew to Myanmar on 25 May 2008 to guide a conference with international agencies aimed at boosting donations for

4992-524: The Aral Sea and the responsibility for its survival are now in the hands of the five countries: Kazakhstan , Uzbekistan , Tajikistan , Kyrgyzstan , and Turkmenistan . In 1994, they adopted the Aral Sea Basin Programme. The Programme's four objectives are: The first phase of the plan effectively began with the first involvement from the World Bank in 1992, and was in operation until 1997. It

5120-1240: The Aral Sea basin had an exceptional array of endemic fish subspecies (as well as the three endemic sturgeon species). Most of these still survive in the North Aral Sea, but some, such as the sturgeons, have been greatly reduced or even driven to extirpation by the lake's shrinkage. Native fish species of the lake included ship sturgeon ( Acipenser nudiventris ), all three Pseudoscaphirhynchus sturgeon species, Aral trout ( Salmo trutta aralensis ), northern pike ( Esox lucius ), ide ( Leuciscus idus oxianus ), asp ( Aspius aspius iblioides ), common rudd ( Scardinius erythropthalmus ), Turkestan barbel ( Luciobarbus capito conocephalus ), Aral barbel ( L. brachycephalus brachycephalus ), common bream ( Abramis brama orientalis ), white-eyed bream ( Ballerus sapa aralensis ), Danube bleak ( Chalcalburnus chalcoides aralensis ), ziege ( Pelecus cultratus ), crucian carp ( Carassius carassius gibelio ), common carp ( Cyprinus carpio aralensis ), Wels catfish ( Silurus glanis ), Ukrainian stickleback ( Pungitius platygaster aralensis ), zander ( Sander lucioperca ), European perch ( Perca fluviatilis ), and Eurasian ruffe ( Gymnocephalus cernuus ). All these fish aside from

5248-475: The Aral Sea crisis, especially in women and children. The impoverished are also particularly vulnerable to the environmental and health related effects of changes to the Aral Sea. These populations were most likely to reside downstream from the Basin and in former coastal communities. They were also among the first to be detrimentally affected, representing at least 4.4 million people in the region. Considered to have

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5376-508: The Aral Sea is inevitable." On the other hand, starting in the 1960s, a large-scale project was proposed to redirect part of the flow of the rivers of the Ob basin to Central Asia over a gigantic canal system. Refilling of the Aral Sea was considered one of the project's main goals. However, due to its staggering costs and the negative public opinion in Russia proper , the federal authorities had abandoned

5504-595: The Aral Sea three years later. The Aral Sea fishing industry began with the renowned Russian dealers Lapshin, Ritkin, Krasilnikov, and Makeev, which later formed major fishing unions. Russian naval presence on the Aral Sea began in 1847 with the founding of Raimsk , soon renamed Fort Aralsk, near the mouth of the Syr Darya. As the Aral Sea basin is not connected to other bodies of water, the Imperial Russian Navy deployed its vessels by disassembling them in Orenburg on

5632-614: The Aral Sea to its Memory of the World Register as a resource to study the environmental tragedy. The Amu Darya river flowed into the Caspian Sea via the Uzboy Channel until the Holocene . Geographer Nick Middleton believes it did not begin to flow into the Aral Sea until that time. Despite its former vast size, the Aral Sea had relatively low indigenous biodiversity . However,

5760-509: The Assembly and Council, respectively, the two governance organs of the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), a treaty-based international, inter-governmental organization dedicated to supporting and promoting environmentally sustainable and socially inclusive economic growth in developing countries and emerging economies. Since Ban's election as the President and Chair, GGGI's list of Member States has expanded from 27 to 48 Member Countries and Regional Integration Organizations. On 16 October 2018,

5888-457: The Global Commission on Adaptation was launched with Ban as co-chair, together with Bill Gates and Kristalina Georgieva . The commission's mandate to accelerate adaptation by elevating the political visibility of adaptation and focusing on concrete solutions came to an end following its Year of Action in 2020, with its work showcased at the Climate Adaptation Summit hosted by the Netherlands on 25 January 2021. Ban currently serves as co-chair for

6016-407: The Iranian leadership due to their statements regarding Israel's destruction and denying the Holocaust. On 16 August 2013, Ban Ki-moon admitted that the UN was biased against Israel, stating in a meeting with Israeli students that there was a biased attitude towards the Israeli people and Israeli government at the UN. He described this as "an unfortunate situation." A few days later, he backtracked on

6144-482: The Iranian police, which was perceived as a crime against humanity . More than 4,000 people were arrested and nearly 70 were killed, some while being held in prison. In another incident, several prominent intellectuals, including Akbar Ganji , Hamid Dabashi and Noam Chomsky , went on a three-day hunger strike in front of the UN. The incident was followed by an official request by more than 200 intellectuals, human rights activists and reformist politicians in Iran for

6272-404: The North Aral Sea has recovered as salinity has decreased from the 1990s onwards, with extirpated crustacean and rotifer species returning naturally via the Syr Darya River, at the expense of the saltwater species. The cladoceran Moina mongolica , extirpated by the introduced fish species, has also returned. The zebra mussel ( Dreissena polymorpha aralensis ) has been reintroduced. In contrast, in

6400-420: The Palestinian president, he declined to meet with Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas . Ban Ki-moon criticized Israel on 10 March 2008 for planning to build housing units in a West Bank settlement , saying the decision conflicts with "Israel's obligation under the road map" for Middle East peace. During a meeting of the UN Security Council on Wednesday, 7 January 2009, Ban called for an immediate end to fighting in

6528-406: The South Aral Sea only a few nematodes , rotifers, and parthenogenic brine shrimp ( Artemia parthenogenetica ) exist. The future prospects for aquatic invertebrates in all remaining Aral Sea fragments depend on their future changes in salinity. Climate shifts have driven multiple phases of sea-level rise and fall. Inflow rates from the Amu Darya and Syr Darya are affected by glacial melt rates at

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6656-406: The South Korean embassy in Washington, D. C. Between these two assignments he served as Director-General for American Affairs in 1990–92. In 1992, he became Vice Chairman of the South-North Joint Nuclear Control Commission, following the adoption by South and North Korea of the Joint Declaration of the Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula . From 1993 to 1994 Ban was Korea's deputy ambassador to

6784-407: The Soviet Union's entire fish catch, has been devastated. In the 1980s commercial harvests were becoming unsustainable, and by 1987 commercial harvest became nonexistent. Due to the declining sea levels, salinity levels became too high for the 20 native fish species to survive. The only fish that could survive the high-salinity levels was flounder. Also, as water has receded, former fishing towns along

6912-417: The Syr Darya river in the east were diverted from feeding the Aral Sea to irrigate the desert in an attempt to grow cotton , melons , rice and cereals . This temporarily succeeded, and in 1988, Uzbekistan was the world's largest exporter of cotton. Cotton production is still Uzbekistan's main cash crop , accounting for 17% of its exports in 2006. Large scale construction of irrigation canals began in

7040-494: The Top 100 Global Thinkers for his achievement of helping the Paris Agreement to be ratified and enforced less than a year after it was adopted. António Guterres was appointed by the General Assembly on 13 October 2016 to be the successor of Ban Ki-moon as he exited on 31 December 2016. He was widely considered to be a potential candidate for the 2017 South Korean presidential election , before announcing, on 1 February, that he would not be running. On 14 September 2017, Ban

7168-485: The U.S. ambassador to Indonesia, to become Under-Secretary-General for political affairs. Jean-Marie Guéhenno , a French diplomat, who had served as Under-Secretary-General for peacekeeping operations under Annan, remained in office. Ban selected Vijay K. Nambiar as his chief of staff. Nambiar later stepped down in 2012 and was replaced by Susana Malcorra of Argentina who served as chief of staff from April 2012 to November 2016. The appointment of many women to top jobs

7296-457: The UN peacekeeping operation into two departments and to combine the political affairs and disarmament department. His proposals were met with stiff resistance from members of the UN General Assembly who bristled at Ban's request for rapid approval. The proposed merger of the disarmament and political affairs offices was criticized by many in the developing world, partially because of rumours that Ban hoped to place American B. Lynn Pascoe in charge of

7424-406: The UN requiring that all positions be considered five-year appointments, all receive strict annual performance reviews, and all financial disclosures be made public. Though unpopular in the New York office, the move was popular in other UN offices around the world and lauded by UN observers. Ban's proposal to split the peacekeeping operation into one group handling operations and another handling arms

7552-418: The United Nations bureaucracy. On several prominent issues, such as proliferation in Iran and North Korea, Ban has deferred to the Security Council. In 2007, the Republic of Nauru raised the issue of allowing the Republic of China (Taiwan) to sign the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women . Ban referenced the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758 , and refused

7680-413: The United Nations, as First Secretary of the South Permanent Observer Mission (South Korea became a full UN member-state on 17 September 1991). After Park Chung Hee 's 1979 assassination, Ban assumed the post of Director of the United Nations Division. In 1980, Ban became director of the United Nations' International Organizations and Treaties Bureau, headquartered in Seoul . He has been posted twice to

7808-401: The United States, Ban was fired by President Kim Dae-jung , who also issued a public apology for Ban's statement. Ban was unemployed for the only time in his career and was expecting to receive an assignment to work in a remote and unimportant embassy. In 2001, during the 56th Session of the United Nations General Assembly , South Korea held the rotating presidency, and to Ban's surprise, he

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7936-412: The United States. He was promoted to the position of Deputy Minister for Policy Planning and International Organizations in 1995 and then appointed National Security Advisor to the President in 1996. Ban's lengthy career overseas has been credited with helping him avoid South Korea's unforgiving political environment. Ban was appointed Ambassador to Austria and Slovenia in 1998, and a year later he

8064-434: The World Climate Conference in Geneva, when he stated, "Our foot is stuck on the accelerator and we are heading towards an abyss". In September 2014, Ban joined demonstrators in the People's Climate March in New York City, and also called together world leaders for the UN Climate Summit, in preparation for the United Nations Climate Change Conference to be held in Paris in late 2015. On Thursday, 22 March 2007, while Ban

8192-521: The approval of France. His official biography states that he speaks both English and French , the two working languages of the UN Secretariat. However, he has repeatedly struggled to answer questions in French from journalists. Ban has repeatedly acknowledged his limitations at French, but assured French diplomats that he was devoted to continuing his study. At a press conference on 11 January 2007, Ban remarked, "My French perhaps could be improved, and I am continuing to work. I have taken French lessons over

8320-403: The campaign's front-runner. On 13 October 2006, Ban was elected as the eighth secretary-general by the United Nations General Assembly . On 1 January 2007, he succeeded Kofi Annan . As secretary-general, he was responsible for several major reforms on peacekeeping and UN employment practices around the world. Diplomatically, Ban has taken particularly strong views on global warming , pressing

8448-402: The children of these mothers, resulting in low birthweight and congenital abnormalities. The rate of infants being born with abnormalities is five times higher in this region than in European countries. The Aral Sea region has 26% of its children born at low birthweight, which is two standard deviations away from a national population study gathered by the WHO. Exposures to toxic chemicals from

8576-465: The death penalty". On the tenth anniversary of Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot 's death, 15 April 2008, Ban Ki-moon appealed for the senior leaders of the regime to be brought to justice. The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia -tribunal, which was established by both the United Nations and Cambodia and which became operational in 2006 , is responsible for prosecuting the aforementioned senior leaders. Ban has received strong criticism from

8704-511: The deaths of 148 Shia Muslims in the Iraqi village of Dujail in the 1980s. In a statement through his spokesperson on 6 January, he "strongly urged the Government of Iraq to grant a stay of execution to those whose death sentences may be carried out in the near future". On the broader issue, he told a Washington, D.C. audience on 16 January 2007 that he recognized and encouraged the "growing trend in international society, international law and domestic policies and practices to phase out eventually

8832-549: The degradation, restricting what Kazakhstan farmers now choose to seed. Inland seas and lakes generally moderate a region's climate through humidification, regulation of thermal energy, and peri-winter albedo effects . Loss of water in the Aral Sea has changed surface temperatures and wind patterns. This has led to a broader annual temperature range (about a 4 to 12 °C broadening) and more dust in storms locally and regionally. The Aral Sea fishing industry, which at its peak employed some 40,000 and reportedly produced one-sixth of

8960-459: The dry dusty land that was once covered by water; many have been there for 20 years. The South Aral Sea remains too saline to host any species other than halotolerant organisms. The South Aral has been incapable of supporting fish since the late 1990s, when the flounder were killed by rising salinity levels. Also destroyed is the muskrat -trapping industry in the deltas of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya, which used to yield as many as 500,000 pelts

9088-536: The dry seabed and polluted water have caused other health issues in women and children. Renal tubular dysfunction has become a large health concern in children in the Aral Sea region as it is showing extremely high prevalence rates. Renal tubular dysfunction can also be related to growth and developmental stunting. This, in conjunction with the already high rate of low-birthweight children and children born with abnormalities, contributes to severe negative health effects and outcomes for children. These issues are compounded by

9216-491: The family lost its middle-class standard of living. When Ban was six, his family fled to a remote mountainside for much of the Korean War . After the war ended, his family returned to Chungju . Ban has said that, during this time, he met American soldiers. During his secondary school education at Chungju High School , Ban was part of the local Scout movement while he also became a star student, particularly in his studies of

9344-470: The first planktivorous fish in the lake, leading to a collapse of the lake's zooplankton population. This in turn caused a collapse of the herring and sand smelt population from which neither species has recovered. All introduced species aside from the carp, snakehead, and (possibly) pipefish survived the lake's shrinkage and salinity increase, and during this time the European flounder ( Platichthys flesus )

9472-405: The first Secretary-General Trygve Lie left office, he told his successor, Dag Hammarskjöld , "You are about to take over the most impossible job on earth". On 23 January 2007, Ban took office as the eighth Secretary-General of the United Nations. Ban's term as Secretary-General opened with a flap. At his first encounter with the press as Secretary-General on 2 January 2007, he refused to condemn

9600-555: The first senior South Korean minister to travel to the Republic of the Congo since its independence in 1960. In February 2006, Ban declared his candidacy to replace Kofi Annan as UN Secretary-General at the end of 2006, becoming the first South Korean to run for the office. Though Ban was the first to announce a candidacy, he was not originally considered a serious contender. Over the next eight months, Ban made ministerial visits to each of

9728-421: The genera Dreissena (including an endemic subspecies of zebra mussel , Dreissena polymorpha aralensis ), Hypanis , and the lagoon cockle ( Cerastoderma glaucum ) (formerly considered distinct species Cerastoderma rhomboides and C. isthmica ). Native gastropods included Theodoxus pallasi and a member of Caspiohydrobia . Many of these invertebrates had their numbers drastically reduced due to

9856-475: The introduced fish species. Later, during an unsuccessful attempt to introduce mullet ( Mugil sp.) to the Aral from the Caspian Sea , the rockpool shrimp ( Palaemon elegans ) was inadvertently introduced to the sea. The shrimp is thought to be responsible for the extirpation of the near-endemic amphipod Dikerogammarus aralensis , which now survives only in the Syr Darya basin. The copepod Calanipeda aquaedulcis

9984-529: The irrigation systems currently in place, whilst targeting water management at a local level. The largest project in this phase is the North Aral Sea Project, a direct effort to recover the northern region of the Aral Sea. The North Aral Sea Project's main initiative is the construction of a dam across the Berg Strait, a deep channel which connects the North Aral Sea to the South Aral Sea. The Kok-Aral Dam

10112-544: The issue repeatedly with U.S. President George W. Bush , and on the Darfur conflict , where he helped persuade Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir to allow peacekeeping troops to enter Sudan . Ban was named the world's 32nd most powerful person by the Forbes list of The World's Most Powerful People in 2013, the highest among South Koreans. In 2014, he was named the third most powerful South Korean after Lee Kun-hee and Lee Jae-yong . In 2016, Foreign Policy named Ban one of

10240-490: The lack of research on maternal and child health effects caused by the demise of the Aral Sea. For example, only 26 English-language peer-reviewed articles and four reports on children's health were produced between 1994 and 2008. In addition, there is a lack of health infrastructure and resources in the Aral Sea region to combat the health issues that have arisen. There is a lack of medication and equipment in many medical facilities, so health professionals do not have access to

10368-412: The lake. Lake Kamyslybas is used as a fishery . This Kazakhstan location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Aral Sea The Aral Sea ( / ˈ ær əl / ) was an endorheic lake (that is, without an outlet) lying between Kazakhstan to its north and Uzbekistan to its south, which began shrinking in the 1960s and had largely dried up by the 2010s. It

10496-609: The last few months. I think that, even if my French isn't perfect, I will continue to study it." As the secretary-general election drew closer, there was rising criticism of the South Korean campaign on Ban's behalf. Specifically, his alleged practice of systematically visiting all member states of the Security Council in his role as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade to secure votes in his support by signing trade deals with European countries and pledging aid to developing countries

10624-575: The liver and kidneys — entered the food chain. Inhabitants of the surrounding areas commonly experience a shortage of fresh water, and health problems are widespread — including high rates of certain cancers, respiratory illnesses including tuberculosis (mostly drug resistant ), digestive disorders, anaemia , and infectious diseases. Liver, kidney, and eye problems may also be due to the toxic dust storms. Together, this presented an unusually high fatality rate among vulnerable age groups: child mortality stood at 75 per 1,000 in 2009, while maternal mortality

10752-462: The motion. On 19 July 2007, Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian wrote to request admission into the UN by the name Taiwan. Ban rejected the request, stating that Resolution 2758 defined Taiwan as part of China. Ban early on identified global warming as one of the key issues of his administration. In a White House meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush in January, Ban urged Bush to take steps to curb greenhouse gas emissions . On 1 March 2007 in

10880-545: The nation, which was struck by Cyclone Nargis on 2 May 2008. The conference was initiated after Ban had met with Than Shwe , the leading figure of Myanmar's government 23 May 2008. Ban toured the devastation—especially in the hard-hit Irrawaddy Delta —23 May 2008 and 24 May 2008. Myanmar officials agreed to allow the Yangon International Airport to be used as a logistical hub for aid distribution. On 6 June 2011, Ban Ki-moon formally announced his candidacy for

11008-411: The necessary supplies to do their jobs in the Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan regions. There is also meager development of a health information system that would allow for extensive research or surveillance of emerging health issues due to Aral Sea issues. An absence of a primary care approach in the health systems of this region also hinders services and access that could prevent and treat issues stemming from

11136-434: The new office. Alejandro D. Wolff , then acting American ambassador, said the United States backed his proposals. After the early bout of reproach, Ban began extensive consultation with UN ambassadors, agreeing to have his peacekeeping proposal extensively vetted. After the consultations, Ban dropped his proposal to combine political affairs and disarmament. Ban nevertheless pressed ahead with reforms on job requirements at

11264-464: The original shores have become ship graveyards . Aral , originally the main fishing port, is now about 15 kilometres from the sea and has seen its population decline dramatically since the beginning of the crisis. The town of Moynaq in Uzbekistan had a thriving harbour and fishing industry that employed about 30,000 people; now it lies 30–90 kilometres from the shore. Fishing boats lie scattered on

11392-421: The point of becoming brine . Since the 1960s the lake has been well-known for its rich and diverse stocks of fish and wetland species, including carp, pike, catfish, perch, and waterfowl such as ducks, geese, and sandpipers. In 1977, water was pumped into the lake from the Syr-Darya to maintain a sufficient water depth, which also helped maintain the average fishing catches and the aquaculture industry around

11520-507: The present. The Aral Sea was part of the western frontier of the Chinese Empire during the Tang dynasty . Muslim geographers, such as Hafiz-i Abru , wrote about the disappearance of the Aral Sea in 1417 due to diversions in both the Amu Darya and Syr Darya . The Russian expedition of Alexey Butakov performed the first observations of the Aral Sea in 1848. The first steamer arrived in

11648-428: The procedures of the plan. This is due in part to a lack of co-operation among the affected people. The water flowing into the Aral Sea has long been considered an important commodity, and trade agreements have been made to supply the downstream communities with water in the spring and summer months for irrigation. In return, they supply the upstream countries with fuel during the winter, instead of storing water during

11776-439: The project by 1986. From 1960 to 1998, the sea's surface area shrank by 60%, and its volume by 80%. In 1960, the Aral Sea had been the world's fourth-largest lake with an area of 68,000 km (26,000 sq mi) and a volume of 1,100 km (260 cu mi). By 1998, it had dropped to 28,687 km (11,076 sq mi) and eighth largest. Its salinity increased; having originally been 10 g/L, by 1990 it

11904-484: The recommendation of the Security Council by a unanimous vote, and, on 21 June, his nomination was confirmed by a unanimous acclamation vote at the United Nations General Assembly . His new five-year term as Secretary-General commenced on 1 January 2012 and ended on 31 December 2016. Ban appointed Swedish diplomat Jan Eliasson as his new Deputy Secretary-General on 2 March 2012. His Chief of Staff

12032-402: The remaining water and in the dry beds. This resulted in wind-borne toxic dust that spread quite widely. People living in the lower parts of the river basins and former shore zones ingested pollutants through drinking local water and inhaling contaminated dust. Furthermore, due to absorption by plants and livestock, toxins — many of which bioaccumulate and are not easily broken down or excreted by

12160-461: The rest of the Security Council, Japan later voted in favor of Ban to avoid controversy. More importantly, Ban was the only one to escape a veto; each of the other candidates received at least one "no" vote from among the five permanent members. After the vote, Shashi Tharoor, who finished second, withdrew his candidacy and China's Permanent Representative to the UN told reporters that "it is quite clear from today's straw poll that Minister Ban Ki-moon

12288-534: The rest were marine invertebrates with ties to the Ponto-Caspian and Mediterranean - Atlantic fauna. The dominant species (excluding protozoa ) were rotifers , cladocerans , and copepods . Advanced crustaceans ( Malacostraca ) were represented by a single amphipod species, Dikerogammarus aralensis , an endemic of the Syr Darya basin. There were several native bivalves in the Aral Sea, including members of

12416-465: The rivers' headwaters as well as precipitation within the river basins; cold, dry climates restrict both processes. Geologically driven shifts in the course of the Amu Darya between the Aral Sea and the Sarykamysh basins and anthropogenic water withdrawal from Amu Darya and Syr Darya have caused fluctuations in the Aral Sea's water level. Artificial irrigation systems began in ancient times and continue to

12544-450: The shrinkage of the Aral Sea in the 1990s to president Islam Karimov 's cotton policy. The enormous irrigation system was massively wasteful, crop rotation was not used, and huge quantities of pesticides and fertilizer were applied. The runoff from the fields washed these chemicals into the shrinking sea, creating severe pollution and health problems. As demand for cotton increased, the government applied more pesticides and fertilizer to

12672-545: The shrinking of the Aral Sea "one of the planet's worst environmental disasters". The region's once-prosperous fishing industry has been devastated, bringing unemployment and economic hardship. The water from the diverted Syr Darya river is used to irrigate about two million hectares (5,000,000 acres) of farmland in the Ferghana Valley . The Aral Sea region is heavily polluted, with consequent serious public health problems . UNESCO has added historical documents concerning

12800-454: The shrinking water source and worsening water and soil quality , pesticides were increasingly used from the 1960s to raise cotton yield, which further polluted the water with toxins (e.g. HCH , TCCD , DDT ). Industrial pollution also resulted in PCB and heavy-metal contamination. Owing to the insufficiency of water left in the Aral sea, concentrations of these pollutants rose drastically both in

12928-500: The small farming village of Haengchi, Wonnam Township ( -myeon ), in Insei , Chūseihoku-dō , Korea, Empire of Japan (now North Chungcheong Province , South Korea). He is of the Gwangju Ban clan  [ ko ] . His family then moved to the nearby town of Chungju , where he grew up. During Ban's childhood, his father had a warehouse business, but the warehouse went bankrupt and

13056-487: The southeastern lake had disappeared and the southwestern lake had retreated to a thin strip at the western edge of the former southern sea. In subsequent years occasional water flows have led to the southeastern lake sometimes being replenished to a small degree. Satellite images by NASA in August 2014 revealed that for the first time in modern history the eastern basin of the Aral Sea had completely dried up. The eastern basin

13184-568: The start of his second term. He focused in 2012 on what he termed "intolerance" in the Arab world. After travelling to Vienna to participate in the opening of the KAICIID Dialogue Centre to foster interreligious dialogue, Ban commented, "Many countries in the Arab world including Saudi Arabia are changing. Since the Arab Spring, the leaders have begun to listen to the voice of their people." He

13312-425: The stickleback (which persisted during the lake's shrinkage and salinity increase), were also extirpated, but many have returned to the North Aral Sea following its recovery from the 1990s onwards. Other salt-tolerant fish species were intentionally or inadvertently introduced during the 1960s when hydropower and irrigation projects reduced the flow of fresh water thereby increasing salinity . These include

13440-428: The stickleback lived an anadramous or semi-anadromous lifestyle. The salinity increase and drying of the lake led to the local extinction of the Aral trout, ruffe, Turkestan barbel, and all sturgeon species, and dams now block their return and migration routes; the Aral trout and Syr Darya sturgeon ( Pseudoscaphirhynchus fedtschenkoi ) may be extinct due to their restricted range. All other native fish, barring

13568-620: The support of the diplomatic community, but also to be able to avoid a veto from any of the five permanent members of the council: People's Republic of China , France , Russia , the United Kingdom , and the United States . Ban was popular in Washington for having pushed to send South Korean troops to Iraq, and had the support of the Bush administration as he pursued the position. But Ban also opposed several U.S. positions: he expressed his support for

13696-579: The warm months for hydroelectric purposes in winter. However, very few legal obligations are binding these contracts, particularly on an international stage. Phase Two of the Aral Sea Basin programme followed in 1998 and ran for five years. The main shortcomings of phase two were due to its lack of integration with the local communities involved. The scheme was drawn up by the World Bank, government representatives, and various technical experts, without consulting those who would be affected. An example of this

13824-453: The worst health in this region, their plight was not helped when their fishery livelihoods vanished with the decreasing levels of water and loss of many aquatic species. Thus, those in poverty are entrenched in a vicious cycle. Many different solutions to the problems have been suggested over the years, varying in feasibility and cost, including: In January 1994, Kazakhstan , Uzbekistan , Turkmenistan , Tajikistan , and Kyrgyzstan signed

13952-419: Was 12 in every 1,000. The dust storms have also contributed to water shortages through salt deposition. Overusing pesticides on crops to preserve yields has exacerbated this. Crops are destroyed where salt is deposited by the wind. The most heavily affected fields must be flushed with water four times per day to remove salt and toxic matter. A 1998 study indicated that few crops (besides fodder ) tolerate

14080-637: Was also elected as Chairman of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO PrepCom). During the negotiations, in what Ban considers the biggest blunder of his career, he included in a public letter a positive statement about the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in 2001, not long after the United States had decided to abandon the treaty. To avoid anger from

14208-440: Was announced for the recovery of the North Aral Sea by building Dike Kokaral , a concrete dam separating the two halves of the Aral Sea. In 2004, the sea's surface area was 17,160 km (6,630 sq mi), 25% of its original size, and a nearly fivefold increase in salinity had killed most of its flora and fauna. Dike Kokaral was completed in 2005 and, as of 2006, some recovery of sea level had been recorded. The Aral Sea

14336-703: Was at 376 g/L. (By comparison, seawater is typically 35 g/L, and the Dead Sea between 300 and 350 g/L.) In 1987, the lake split into two separate bodies of water: the North Aral Sea (the Lesser Sea, or Small Aral Sea) and the South Aral Sea (the Greater Sea, or Large Aral Sea). In June 1991, Uzbekistan gained independence from the Soviet Union. Craig Murray , UK ambassador to Uzbekistan in 2002, attributes

14464-726: Was elected chair of the International Olympic Committee 's Ethics Commission. Also in 2017, Ban co-founded the nonprofit Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens. He also currently serves as the Distinguished Chair Professor at Yonsei University 's Institute for Global Engagement and Empowerment. On 20 February 2018, Ban was unanimously elected as the President of the Assembly and Chair of the Council by all members of

14592-717: Was filled by Alicia Bárcena Ibarra of Mexico. Bárcena was considered a UN insider, having previously served as Annan's chief of staff. Her appointment was seen by critics as an indication that Ban would not make dramatic changes to UN bureaucracy. Ban appointed Sir John Holmes , the British Ambassador to France, as Under-Secretary-General for humanitarian affairs and coordinator of emergency relief . Ban initially said that he would delay making other appointments until his first round of reforms were approved, yet later abandoned this idea after receiving criticism. In February he continued with appointments, selecting B. Lynn Pascoe ,

14720-519: Was finally adopted in mid-March 2007. The Secretary-General of the United Nations has the ability to influence debate on nearly any global issue. Although unsuccessful in some areas, Ban's predecessor Annan had been successful in increasing the UN peacekeeping presence and in popularizing the Millennium Development Goals . UN observers were eager to see on which issues Ban intended to focus, in addition to his declared interest in reforming

14848-415: Was going to the land instead of the Aral Sea and the sea began to shrink. From 1961 to 1970, the Aral's level fell an average of 20 cm (7.9 in) per year. In the 1970s the rate nearly tripled to 50–60 cm (20–24 in) per annum, and in the 1980s to 80–90 cm (31–35 in) per annum. The amount of water taken for irrigation from the rivers doubled between 1960 and 2000. In the first half of

14976-611: Was however criticised in the Austrian press for associating himself with a project of Saudi King Abdullah , Saudi Arabia being a location of perceived religious intolerance. Throughout 2012, Ban expressed his concern about the continuing Israeli–Palestinian conflict , in particular the condition of the Palestinian hunger strikers in Israeli prisons and the movement restrictions imposed on Gaza Strip residents. On 30 August 2012 Ban criticized

15104-553: Was in the Aktobe and Kyzylorda regions of Kazakhstan and the Karakalpakstan autonomous region of Uzbekistan. The name roughly translates from Mongolic and Turkic languages to "Sea of Islands", a reference to the large number of islands (over 1,100) that once dotted its waters. The Aral Sea drainage basin encompasses Uzbekistan and parts of Afghanistan , Iran , Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan , Tajikistan , and Turkmenistan . Formerly

15232-478: Was ineffectual for a number of reasons, but mainly because it was focused on improving directly the land around the Aral Sea, whilst not intervening in the water usage upstream. There was considerable concern amongst the Central Asian governments, which realised the importance of the Aral Sea in the ecosystem and the economy of Central Asia, and they were prepared to cooperate, but they found it difficult to implement

15360-430: Was introduced to revive fisheries. The extirpated species (aside from possibly the pipefish) returned to the North Aral Sea following its recovery. Herring, sand smelt, gobies and flounder persisted in the South Aral Sea until increasing salinity extirpated all but the gobies. Prior to its shrinkage, the Aral Sea had about 250 species of native aquatic invertebrates , the majority (about 80%) being freshwater species;

15488-459: Was introduced to the Aral to replace the zooplankton species reduced by the herring population, and the North American mud crab Rhithropanopeus harrisii was inadvertently introduced during this attempt as well. Later, as the lake's salinity increased, many of the freshwater-adapted species disappeared, only leaving behind the marine and saline species. However, the zooplankton population in

15616-468: Was part of the five-year plans , approved by the council of ministers and the Politburo . Nobody on a lower level would dare to say a word contradicting those plans, even if it was the fate of the Aral Sea." The reaction to the predictions varied. Some Soviet experts apparently considered the Aral to be "nature's error", and a Soviet engineer said in 1968, "it is obvious to everyone that the evaporation of

15744-458: Was seen as fulfilling a campaign promise Ban had made to increase the role of women in the United Nations. During Ban's first year as secretary-general, more top jobs were being handled by women than ever before. Though not appointed by Ban, the president of the General Assembly, Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa , is only the third woman to hold this position in United Nations history. During his first month in office, Ban proposed two major reforms: to split

15872-446: Was selected to be the chief of staff to general assembly president Han Seung-soo . In 2003, incoming president Roh Moo-hyun selected Ban as one of his foreign policy advisors. In 2004, Ban replaced the resigning Yoon Young-kwan as foreign minister of South Korea under president Roh Moo-hyun . At the beginning of his term, Ban was faced with two major crises: in June 2004 Kim Sun-il ,

16000-519: Was taking part in the first stop of a tour of the Middle East, a mortar attack hit just 80 meters (260 ft) from where the Secretary-General was standing, interrupting a press conference in Baghdad 's Green Zone , and visibly shaking Ban and others. No one was hurt in the incident. The United Nations had already limited its role in Iraq after its Baghdad headquarters was bombed in August 2003, killing 22 people. Ban said, however, that he still hoped to find

16128-519: Was the South Korean minister of foreign affairs and trade between 2004 and 2006. Ban was initially considered to be a long shot for the office of Secretary-General of the United Nations; he began to campaign for the office in February 2006. As the foreign minister of South Korea, he was able to travel to all the countries on the United Nations Security Council , a manoeuvre that subsequently turned him into

16256-400: Was the focus of many news articles. According to The Washington Post , "rivals have privately grumbled that Republic of Korea, which has the world's 11th-largest economy, has wielded its economic might to generate support for his candidacy". Ban reportedly said that these insinuations were "groundless". In an interview on 17 September 2006 he stated: "As front-runner, I know that I can become

16384-451: Was the public awareness initiatives, which were seen as propagandist attempts by people with little care or understanding of their situation. These failures have led to the introduction of a new plan, funded by a number of institutions, including the five countries involved and the World Bank. In 1997, a new plan was conceived which would continue with the previous restoration efforts of the Aral Sea. The main aims of this phase are to improve

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