By 2025, 213,000 hectares of saxaul will be planted on the dried bottom of the Aral Sea. According to the Kazakh Ministry of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources, nearly two million tree seedlings have been planted to date. Every year the wind blows up to 100 million tonnes of salt and dust from the seabed. Saxaul can reduce this negative effect. One tree can hold up to four tonnes of sand. A regional project aimed at promoting the environmentally sustainable development of the Aral Sea Region was launched this year. It is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. The project is being implemented until 2024 in Karakalpakstan and Khorezm region of Uzbekistan, as well as Kazakhstan’s Kyzylorda and Mangystau regions.
Translation by Assem Zhanmukhanova
Editing by Galiya Khassenkhanova