19.4mln saxaul seedlings planted on dried bottom of the Aral Sea
U.S. Ambassador to Kazakhstan Daniel Rosenblum, representatives of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Kazakhstan, and USAID/Central Asia Deputy Regional Mission Director Monique Mosolf embarked on a trip to the Aral Sea, to survey its dry shores, Kazinform News Agency reports.
The international community has already recognized the shrinking of the Aral Sea as one of the most serious environmental crises in human history. The consequences of drying up of sea affect not only a region or an individual country, but the entire planet. This trip enabled the experts to study thoroughly the condition of the sea shores and the work done, the press service of the Kazakh Ministry reported.
As part of the Oasis project launched by the USAID in 2021–2023 to restore the ecosystem of Aral Sea on 150 hectares, a 500-meter well was drilled and saxaul seedlings were planted there.
Earlier, the President of the country set a task to plant saxaul seedlings on 1.1 million hectares of the Aral Sea’s dried bottom from 2021 to 2025, with 276,200 hectares to be planted this year. As of today, 19.4 million saxaul seedlings have been planted on the area of 65,000 hectares. Next year this area will be enlarged to 280,000 hectares.
From March 1 to 3, Kyzylorda region hosted the first eco-volunteering project “Syr qorǵany – sekseýil”. The mission of the project is to restore the region’s eco-system and protect it from the aftermath of the Aral Sea catastrophe. As many as 80 volunteers, with the support of the Ministry of Ecology and local executive authorities, planted 5,100 saxaul seedlings on the dried bottom of the Aral Sea.
