USAID

The USAID Environmental Restoration of the Aral Sea Activity

Joining Efforts to Improve Resilience for the Aral Sea Ecosystem and Its Human Communities

The catastrophe of the Aral Sea is one of the most infamous environmental disasters in the world. The Sea, which supports almost 40 million people in the region, including four million living in its immediate environs, is currently just one-tenth of its original size. The region’s economy, heavily dependent on water resources, is in decline, while sand and dust storms severely degrade air quality and impact human health. 

At the request of the Government of Kazakhstan in 2021, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) launched the Environmental Restoration of the Aral Sea (ERAS), a three-year activity to support the environment and enhance resilience to climate change for vulnerable populations and ecosystems. The primary objective of ERAS is to improve the soil condition and vegetation in a portion of the dry seabed by planting an “Oasis” of black saxaul to help mitigate the impact of destructive sand and salt storms in the region, and, in the process, take a potentially big first step toward reviving the ecosystem of the Aral Sea.

USAID is implementing ERAS with assistance from the Executive Directorate of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (ED IFAS) in the Republic of Kazakhstan, and in close partnership with the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The Activity will implement proven methods that enhance the sustainability of results, and options for scaling up and replicating those efforts by local communities, governments of the region, and other donors. And last year, USAID launched the second phase of ERAS in the Uzbekistan portion of the Aral Sea, using lessons learned from this initial project in Kazakhstan, with the goal of fostering a bilateral working group between the two nations to combine their technical expertise and experience to overcome the Aral Sea crisis and pave the way forward for improved water cooperation.

Geographic Scope of the Activity

News and press releases

Success Stories

Creating an “Oasis” in the Aral Sea

As a child, Bolat Bekniyaz was passionate about geography. He could find the Aral Sea and other landmarks on a ...
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MATERIALS

Contacts

USAID Regional Water and Vulnerable Environment Activity

Dostyk Avenue 210B, BC Koktem Grand, 6th Floor, Office #4, Almaty 050051, Kazakhstan

ard.wave.info@tetratech.com

Disclaimer

This website is made possible by the support of the American people through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the sole responsibility of Tetra Tech and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.

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