Kazakhstan initiates interstate program to protect Caspian water resources

According to him, the issue is being addressed jointly with the Caspian littoral states.

“One of the key priorities of our forestry policy is combating desertification in the Aral and Caspian regions. Between 2021 and 2025, afforestation work was carried out on more than 920,000 hectares of the dried-up Aral Sea bed, and these efforts will continue next year. A nursery with an annual capacity of 3 million seedlings has been established in Kazaly, and another new nursery is under construction on the dried-up Aral Sea bed. In the Kyzylorda region, a branch of the Kazakh Research Institute of Forestry has been set up, and steps are being taken to create the Aral Forest Nature Reserve, which will cover over 1.3 million hectares,” the minister said.

He added that, following the President’s initiative, the Kazakh Research Institute of the Caspian Sea was set up to examine the ecological issues of the Caspian.

“At present, the Ministry, together with the Caspian littoral states, is working on developing an interstate program to preserve the water resources of the Caspian Sea. In addition, drawing on the experience of the Aral, a program is being developed to create protective forest belts on dried-out lands,” Yerlan Nyssanbayev said.

Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has highlighted the problems of transboundary water management and the ecological state of the Aral Sea and the Caspian Sea.