UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday asked for donation to a trust fund for the Aral Sea region, where the dying Aral Sea, an endorheic lake between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, is causing socio-economic problems.

"Our efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals will require a surge in financing. I therefore appeal to donor nations to help bring the Multi-Partner Human Security Trust Fund for the Aral Sea Region fully to life," he told a high-level event to launch the fund.

"The fund will advance comprehensive solutions. It will also embody the idea of human security by focusing on people, communities, prevention and partnerships, and on holistic approaches that address root causes."

Guterres recalled his "unforgettable visit" to the region in June 2017 and how he was shocked by the shrinking of the Aral Sea.

"I saw for myself the drying of the Aral Sea, one of the largest ecological catastrophes of our time. I heard moving accounts from people and experts about how the severe damage to the sea also undermined the region's social and economic systems. Livelihoods, traditional ways of life, and hopes for the future -- all this has been lost."

The Aral Sea, formerly the fourth-largest lake in the world, has been shrinking since the 1960s when rivers that fed it were diverted by Soviet irrigation projects. By 1997, it had lost 90 percent of its original size.

Guterres noted that the growing demands for water, the poor management of water resources, and the growing impact of climate change are increasing water stress in many parts of the world.

When ecosystem decline is coupled with other forms of insecurity, as what is happening in the Lake Chad region in Africa, the intersection of water scarcity, climate change, inequality and violent extremism can lead to more intractable crises, he warned. Enditem

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