From April 4 to 6, the first Aral Culture Summit took place in Karakalpakstan, bringing together local and international scientists, artists, and activists. Their goal: to find creative ways to support the social and environmental recovery of the Aral Sea region. The summit is the first in a series of global cultural initiatives taking place throughout 2025 and supported by Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation.
Scheduled to be held every 18 months, the summit is designed to act as a space for exchanging ideas and building new solutions. This year’s program included panels, cultural events, and a pop-up market featuring local artists and businesses. It focused on how art, design, and science can help Karakalpakstan grow in sustainable ways and attract new eco-friendly businesses.
Summit opening in Samarkand; image: ACDF
The first day of the summit was linked with the Samarkand International Climate Forum, which was attended by over 2,000 foreign guests, including top officials from the European Union, the United Nations, and Central Asian governments. They discussed urgent climate problems in the region, including desertification, water shortages, and rising temperatures.
Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev spoke about steps being taken to slow land degradation. “To reduce the area of degraded lands and mitigate the consequences of climate change, Uzbekistan has been carrying out large-scale greening in the framework of the Yashil Makon project. Additionally, over two million hectares of the deserted Aral Sea region is now covered with drought-resistant plants,” he said. Mirziyoyev also warned that water shortages will increase in the region by 2040 and stressed the need for stronger cooperation, telling those assembled, “We urge our partners to join the efforts and launch a Regional Program for Implementation of Water Saving Technologies in Central Asia.”
Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev also shared concerns about climate challenges, pointing out that the “temperature in the region is rising twice as fast as the global average.” Tokayev highlighted joint efforts with Uzbekistan to green the dried bottom of the Aral Sea.
“Central Asia is profoundly affected by the global climate crisis,” Gayane Umerova, Chairperson of the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation (ACDF) told those in attendance. “Rising temperatures, altered rainfall patterns, and intensified droughts are severely impacting agriculture, water resources, and livelihoods across our region. No example illustrates this better than the tragedy of the Aral Sea. But healing the land goes hand in hand with healing communities.”
Desert ship, Moynaq; image: TCA, Stephen M. Bland
A striking example of the shrinking of the Aral Sea is the forgotten hamlet of Moynaq. At its peak, the town was home to 60,000 people, mostly fishermen and their extended families, with the Aral Sea producing up to 30% of the Soviet catch and saving Russia from widespread famine in the 1920s. Accessible only by air and ferry well into the 1970s, Moynaq also served as a popular beach resort for well-heeled bureaucrats, its airport hosting fifty flights a day at its peak. By the eighties, however, tourism had dried up. With the sea’s major source, the Amu Darya River no longer reaching its historic terminus, digging channels through the sand in pursuit of the diminishing sea, Moynaq’s fishermen discarded their ships where they became grounded.
Today, the town’s population number less than 2,000, the remnants of the Aral Sea almost two hundred kilometers away. With the sea gone, the region is subject to searing summers and freezing winters, 500 species of bird, 200 mammals, a hundred types of fish and countless insects unique to the region all now extinct.
Given this startling decline, it is no surprise that some of the most powerful stories came from local leaders like Gulnaz Abutova, one of the summit’s featured speakers and founder of the Clean Water project.
Moynaq; image: TCA, Stephen M. Bland
“I was born and raised in Nukus, Karakalpakstan, an area that lies in an ecologically vulnerable zone,” she told TCA. “Growing up, I often heard stories from the older generation about the once full-flowing Aral Sea, the famous Aral canned goods, and the profound sadness they felt witnessing its near-total disappearance.”
Abutova said she clearly remembers when she saw the crisis with her own eyes. “In 2014, during my first year at university, we were sent to Turtkul to pick cotton. There, I saw the full extent of the crisis with my own eyes. Local people were forced to drink and bathe in contaminated water from ‘baspa taps’ — makeshift water sources,” she explained. “I even saw people using water from irrigation channels (aryks) for cooking, boiling it and adding it to their food.”
In 2024, after attending a leadership program in Tashkent, Abutova decided to act. “I chose to focus on building water treatment stations for remote villages in Karakalpakstan, aiming to address the acute water crisis in the region,” she told TCA. “My proposal received unanimous support from the group.”
It was not easy in the beginning. “As we had no experience in the charity sector, fundraising was our first major hurdle,” Abutova recalled. “We got some help from relatives, but many charity organizations either didn’t focus on water projects or didn’t believe we could follow through. Thankfully, the Uzbekistan Volunteer Association agreed to help, but only if we set clear deadlines and targets. That gave us the push we needed.”
Aral Culture Summit 2025. Image courtesy of ACDF
Since then, eight water stations have been built, providing clean drinking water to over 8,380 people. “While numbers and statistics are important, I always prefer to focus on the people,” Abutova said. “Clean water has not only reduced waterborne diseases and improved overall health, but it’s also strengthened immune systems because our stations enrich the water with essential minerals.”
Looking to the future, Abutova says there are plans for four more stations. “Though I initiated the idea for the project, I’ve stepped back from day-to-day involvement as the project has grown. Now, many individuals and teams are dedicated to its expansion, and I continue to offer guidance on organizational matters.”
Abutova hopes to turn the project into a registered NGO so they can raise funds on a larger scale. “Donations are always welcome, and individuals can contribute through various channels,” she told TCA. “Raising awareness is equally crucial. By sharing our story and spreading the word, you can help amplify the impact of this important work.”
Even when small, Abutova believes local action can be powerful. “Ultimately, we hope that our efforts will inspire others to take similar actions in their own regions.”
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To learn more or support the Clean Water project, Gulnaz Abutova can be contacted at gulnaz_abutova@mail.ru or on Instagram @nazik_abutova and @clean.water.uz.
