PRESS-ANNOUNCEMENT of the Aral International Forum on Sustainable Development

The Aral International Forum of Sustainable Development will be held on May 30 – 31, 2017 in Kyzylorda.

The main organizers of the Forum: Akimat of Kyzylorda oblast, “Astana” International scientific complex and Executive Board of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Co-organizers of the Forum: Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan; Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan; Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan; Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan; Institute of Geography of the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The Forum will include:

– State bodies of Kazakhstan and of other states.

– Embassies of the Central Asian states in Kazakhstan, and of other states of near and far abroad.

– International and regional organizations,

– Scientific and public organizations, business structures and expert community of the Central Asian and other regions of the world.

The purpose of the Forum: To raise the general awareness of the environmental and socio-economic problems of the Aral Sea area, to draw the world’s attention to its topical issues in accordance with the Global Goals of Sustainable Development. Another component of the Forum is the strengthening and further development of business and partnership relations between state bodies of countries and international organizations, business structures for the successful implementation of socio-economic, environmental, educational projects and programs of the Aral Sea basin.

The forum consists of two parts:

The first part of the Forum is theoretically-methodological and conceptual in nature and includes information and scientific reports on the most pressing problems of the Aral region, as well as other world ecological analogues, speeches of the heads of central state bodies and international organizations, presentations of works, programs, road maps of outstanding scientists and authoritative scientific research structures, international organizations of the modern world.

The second part will include reports on projects already implemented in the Central Asian region and the Syr Darya and the Aral Sea basin; presentation of new applied projects for the rehabilitation of the Aral Sea and adjacent areas; signing of memorandums and contracts providing investments in restoration of the Aral Sea, preservation of its biodiversity, planting of greenery and desertification of the region, construction of roads and industrial facilities, development of social infrastructure, etc.

In general, the Forum’s platform, created today, will primarily help solve the most urgent problems of sustainable development of the Aral Sea, prevent interstate conflicts in the joint use of water resources, consolidate and promote promising ideas and progressive vision based on scientific approaches of the latest technologies.

Along with the discussion of environmental and socio-economic issues of the Aral Sea, the Forum will address topical problems of other regions of the world, including industrial ecology, global climate change, integrated water issues, and positive experience in solving these problems in the modern world.

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A photo exhibition about the Aral Sea was opened in Moscow

A photo exhibition about the Aral Sea and the Ustyurt Plateau was opened in Moscow, at the State Darwin Museum.

The exhibition, according to the idea of the authors, should draw attention to the ecological catastrophe and show the amazing beauty of the Aral Sea.

The exposition devoted to the Aral Sea was included in the TOP-10 of the Moscow exhibitions of April. About 60 landscapes of the Aral Sea and the desert of the Ustyurt plateau on the bottom of the ancient ocean tell of a brief spring awakening of the earth. The idea to create a photo exhibition appeared by the oceanologist Michael Flint’s mind after working expeditions.

Dana Nurzhan, Twitter @DanaNurzhan:

– Visitors to the photo exhibition can get quite detailed information about the situation with the Aral Sea today. So, for example, the satellite images show how the Aral Sea inevitably dries up. Over the past 40 years, the Aral area has shrunk by 10 times. But not everything is so unambiguous, scientists assure. Archaeologists have made amazing discoveries in the past 10 years. Traces of human civilization were found on the bottom of the Aral Sea.

Mikhail Flint, Deputy Director of the Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences:

– When the bottom of the Aral Sea was exposed, which, as we initially thought, had never seen sunlight and was always covered with water, and people began to do their first works there, they found a mausoleum. This suggests that the people who built the mausoleum lived there not just for a year or two, but a long period. There were found parking areas with a lot of pottery and utensils. Moreover, this part of the Ustyurt plateau and Aral Sea on the border with Kazakhstan was probably a very important part of the Great Silk Road. You envision the number of people who moved there with caravans. Hence, the nature there was arranged differently, despite the fact that the Aral Sea was in such a low standing.

The artefacts found during the joint expedition are in the possession of German archaeologists, the scientist specifies. They determined: the mausoleum was built in the 11th century, parking areas and cemeteries – as early as 15th century. At the bottom of the sea there are more puzzles than answers.

Mikhail Flint, Deputy Director of the Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences:

– There are very powerful natural cycles, of which, unfortunately, we have no idea. And when I look at what happened to the Aral Sea, it seems to me that this is a very instructive lesson for humanity.

The author of the pictures is sure that the photo exhibition is a great way to draw people’s attention to environmental problems.

– The pictures are very good, in addition, I think that the problem of the Aral Sea drying out is now, really, very urgent. These natural and human factors are combined together. I think our task is to fight against this in order to restore this wonderful natural ecosystem.

– Peace, nature. Very beautiful, mountains, heights, hollows.

After Moscow, the project will go on a tour of the country to tell the inhabitants of Russia about the gloomy catastrophe and the amazing secrets of the Aral Sea.

Authors: Dana Nurzhan, Alexander Lyubitelev, Russia

Source: http://24.kz/en/news/culture/item/174471-fotovystavka-ob-aralskom-more-otkrylas-v-moskve

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