Letting wetlands disappear Life without wetlands? Take these
important functions away, and chaos ensues. Polluted water kills
fish. Migratory birds abandon the area and either go elsewhere
or die out. The disappearance of wildlife eventually leads to
people's food supplies being disrupted or destroyed and their
livelihoods ruined. Wetland pollution ultimately brings death
and disease to human, plant, and animal communities across the
world. A case in point is the Aral Sea in central Asia - the
most polluted area of water on Earth. Once known as the Blue
Sea, it was the world's fourth largest freshwater lake. But in
just 30 years, it has shrunk to less than half its size and has
become as salty as any ocean. As the water retracted and
evaporated, it left in its wake 3.6 million ha of polluted soil
that is swept up by fierce storms and dumped on the surrounding
land. Food is now scarce, infant mortality is on the increase
and life expectancy is declining - by as much as 20 years,
according to some experts. This