Tree planting - The Times Of Central Asia

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Kazakhstan to Plant Nearly Half of Its Dried Aral Seabed with Saxaul

By the end of 2025, saxaul forests will cover approximately 40% of Kazakhstan's portion of the dried-up Aral Seabed, according to Azamat Abuov, head of the Department of Reproduction and Use of Forests and Flora at the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources. Afforestation efforts in the former Aral Sea, once the world’s fourth-largest inland body of water, aim to restore the region’s fragile ecosystem. Both public and private entities are participating in the project, which seeks to establish a “green belt” to stabilize the soil and curb the spread of more than 100 million tons of salt, sand, and dust from the exposed seabed to surrounding areas each year. Saxaul has been selected as the primary species for reforestation due to its suitability for the region’s arid conditions. “Currently, work on the Kazakh section has been carried out across 475,000 hectares, with additional efforts focused on natural regeneration. If we consider all initiatives together, afforestation has already covered 612,000 hectares. Plans for 2025 include an additional 428,000 hectares, bringing the total to 1.1 million hectares by the end of the year, ultimately covering about 40% of the dried-up area with saxaul,” Abuov said at a press conference in Astana. He added that approximately 300 local residents are actively involved in the project, collecting and planting saxaul seeds. Ruslan Akhmetov, director of the Almaty branch of the Kazakh Research Institute of Forestry and Agroforestry, highlighted that planting in the dried-up Aral Sea basin presents challenges due to high soil salinity, making saxaul the optimal choice as a salt-resistant plant. To support the initiative, a nursery has been established at the site to cultivate seedlings adapted to local soil conditions. Alibi Gaziz, general director of the Republican Forest Breeding and Seed Center, announced that two wells will be drilled in the dried seabed. “These will serve as oases, providing watering holes for animals and nurseries nearby. Water will be drawn from depths of 500 - 600 meters, with moderate salinity, making it suitable for irrigating plants and sustaining wildlife,” he explained. According to Gaziz, wildlife has already begun returning to the saxaul plantations in Kazakhstan’s section of the former Aral Sea, with hares, foxes, and gerbils spotted in the area, signaling the ecosystem’s gradual recovery. At its peak in the mid-20th century, the Aral Sea spanned 68,000 square kilometers along the Kazakhstan-Uzbekistan border. However, large-scale water diversion from its two main tributaries, the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers, for cotton irrigation in the 1960s triggered its rapid decline. By 2007, the sea had shrunk to just 10% of its original size, marking one of the planet’s worst environmental disasters. As The Times of Central Asia previously reported, Uzbekistan is also implementing afforestation measures to restore its portion of the dried-up Aral Sea, while broader regional efforts continue to improve water inflow to the Northern Aral Sea.

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Kazakhstan Continues Afforestation Efforts on the Aral Sea

Kazakhstan is pressing ahead with a large-scale afforestation project aimed at restoring the ecosystem on the dried bed of the Aral Sea. The initiative brings together KATCO - a joint venture between the French state-owned company Orano and Kazakhstan’s national atomic company Kazatomprom - and other state and private entities to create artificial forests, combat land degradation, and improve environmental conditions in the Aral region. The Decline of the Aral Sea Once the world’s fourth-largest inland body of water, the Aral Sea spanned 68,000 square kilometers, straddling Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. However, starting in the 1960s, extensive water diversion from its feeder rivers - the Amu Darya and Syr Darya - for cotton irrigation caused the sea to dry up rapidly. By 2007, the Aral had shrunk to just 10% of its original size. The environmental fallout has been catastrophic. Over 100 million tons of salt, sand, and dust are carried annually by winds from the exposed seabed, damaging nearby ecosystems and posing significant health risks to residents of the surrounding areas. Progress in Afforestation According to Kazakhstan's Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, significant strides have been made in afforestation efforts. Between December 16 and 30, 2024, sowing was completed on 12,000 hectares of the former seabed. Efforts are continuing, with plans to sow seeds across 108,000 hectares in January and February 2025. By March 2025, an additional 16,492 hectares will be planted with saxaul shrubs, a hardy plant well-suited to the region’s arid conditions. The ultimate goal is to plant saxaul shrubs on 1.1 million hectares of the dried-up Aral Seabed. Between 2021 and 2024, afforestation was completed on 475,000 hectares, including 127,000 hectares in 2024 alone. For 2025, Kazakhstan plans to plant saxaul on an ambitious 428,000 hectares. Nationwide Tree-Planting Initiative Kazakhstan’s efforts to restore the Aral Sea ecosystem are part of a broader national afforestation program. The country aims to plant 2 billion trees by 2027. From 2021 to 2024, 1.1 billion seedlings were planted over a total of 736,800 hectares, including 306 million seedlings planted in 2024 on 205,200 hectares. For 2025, the goal is to plant 336.5 million seedlings across 494,000 hectares. Beyond rural afforestation, 15 million trees are planned for urban and village areas, with more than 12 million already planted between 2021 and 2024. A Step Toward Environmental Recovery Kazakhstan’s afforestation efforts represent a critical step toward mitigating the environmental damage caused by the desiccation of the Aral Sea. By stabilizing the exposed seabed with saxaul shrubs and increasing tree cover nationwide, the country aims to reduce airborne pollutants, improve regional biodiversity, and enhance the quality of life for affected communities. The project is not only an environmental undertaking but also a testament to Kazakhstan's commitment to sustainable development and ecological restoration on a massive scale.

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Kazakhstan to Plant Forests to Reduce Carbon Dioxide Emissions

On November 18, the British company SEFE Marketing & Trading Ltd. and Kazakhstan’s SAFC LLP signed an emission removal purchase agreement, marking the launch of the country’s first forest climate project. The project aims to plant 3.3 million trees across 1,500 hectares in the Almaty region. According to forecasts, the initiative will achieve an average annual reduction of 26 tons of CO₂ per hectare. Over the 30-year project period, this is expected to remove 1.2 million tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Additionally, the project is designed to promote agroforestry, ecotourism, and job creation in the region. During a meeting with one of SEFE's Vice-Presidents, Alexander Demidov, and SAFC's CEO Yuri Kim, Kazakhstan’s Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov emphasized the government’s commitment to supporting environmental initiatives. “We strive to create favorable conditions for attracting foreign investment in environmental projects. The government supports projects aimed at restoring ecosystems, reducing carbon footprint, and developing a green economy,” he stated. Kim added: “This project was supported by the President of Kazakhstan and the Atameken National Chamber of Entrepreneurs, and now we are starting its practical implementation. By combining the competencies of SEFE and SAFC, we will demonstrate Kazakhstan's broad capabilities for attracting foreign investment.” According to Atameken, the project not only lays the groundwork for others to follow suit but also leads the way for new investment opportunities in carbon farming. This approach marks a new stage in diversifying Kazakhstan’s economy, creating potential revenue streams from agricultural production and greenhouse gas emission trading. Kazakhstan’s forest climate initiative demonstrates the country’s commitment to sustainability while attracting foreign investment to bolster its green economy.

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Tajikistan to Strengthen Protection of Mulberry Trees

In a move to strengthen its silk industry, Tajikistan's parliament has approved amendments to the Code of Administrative Offences, increasing fines for damaging mulberry trees. Bakhodur Sheralizoda, Chairman of the Environmental Protection Committee, who forwarded initiative, emphasized that the new measures will help protect the environment and restore mulberry plantations, which are vital for silkworms. Under the new rules, individuals damaging mulberry or other crops will face a fine of three to five calculation indexes. In comparison, officials can be fined seven to ten indexes (for 2024, 1 calculation index is 84 somoni, equivalent to $7.50). The final amounts will be approved following the adoption of amendments to the Code. Because the leaves of the trees are the main food base for mulberry silk worms, their preservation is critical for the restoration of an industry which has suffered a sharp decline over the last 30 years. In 1991, the country produced 4,528 tons of silk cocoons but by 2024, this figure had fallen to 361 tons. According to experts, the reason for the decline is a reduction of mulberry plantations, especially on private land on which trees have been felled and sold as firewood. Back in 2021, in an address to parliament , Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, called for special attention to be paid to the development of silk farming, emphasizing its importance in creating jobs, especially for women and girls. To encourage cocoon processing, he also waived land tax for a period of ten years on areas where mulberry trees are grown. Despite such measures, the situation barely improved. In response and to achieve its aim of increasing silk production to 1,867 tons by 2027, the Tajik government has introduced a program to plant over 4.3 million mulberry trees across the country. The total area covered by mulberry trees in Tajikistan is currently about 5,500 hectares. In addition to their economic importance, mulberries play an essential role in environmental conservation. Mulberry trees prevent soil erosion and the spread of dust storms. Also of note, is that rich in vitamins C, K, iron, and potassium, the berries provide an important food source and are widely used in traditional medicines. Additional measures to protect mulberry trees include strengthening local authorities' control over land allocation for new plantations and preventing the felling of existing trees. A comprehensive approach, including economic incentives and administrative measures, is expected to help Tajikistan bring silk production back to its previous level and make it one of the country's leading agricultural sectors.

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Kazakhstan Set to Plant Two Billion Trees

The government's press service reported that about 970 million saplings have been planted across Kazakhstan since 2021, and the country plans to plant over a billion more by the end of 2027. Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Yerlan Nysanbayev said this at the October 8 government meeting on measures to expand the area under forests in Kazakhstan. Over the past five years, the area under forests in Kazakhstan has increased by 267,000 hectares. At the meeting, Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov said: "The head of state has set the task of planting two billion trees, which will increase the forest area in the country to 14.5 million hectares. The expansion of forests and parks and the preservation of biodiversity for future generations are some of the priorities for improving the environmental situation. This is a very complex and long-term work. We need to make every effort to increase the area under forests and preserve the existing forests." The meeting focused on measures to protect forests from fires and illegal logging. Large wildfires in the past years have shown the forestry services' unpreparedness to counteract them. In this regard, the government is working to equip them with firefighting machinery and equipment. This year, 52 billion tenge ($106 million) has been allocated to purchase 1,384 pieces of firefighting equipment. Today, the early detection system of forest fires covers more than 900,000 hectares of forests. Its effectiveness has been proved by the example of the Burabay (Borovoye) National Park, where the average area of forest fires has been reduced 50-fold. According to Nysanbayev, another important issue is planting forests on the dried bottom of the Aral Sea. Over the past 30 years, trees and shrubs have been planted on more than 600,000 hectares of the former Aral Sea bed, including 413,000 hectares over the past four years.

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Uzbekistan to Plant 125 Million Trees

On March 29th, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev chaired a government meeting on the expansion of green areas across the country. Aimed at improving the environment, Uzbekistan has initiated a mass tree planting campaign. In addition to 125 million saplings being planted this spring, work has begun on the creation of parks and planting trees in rows of ten along roads. To date, the Ministry of Defense has planted on 100 hectares, and the Ministry of Digital Technologies as well as the Ministry of Mining and Geology have each given over 65 hectares to parkland. The Ministry of Ecology, Environment and Climate Change has been tasked to establish 444 gardens and 160 public parks. To expand green areas in Tashkent, the city planning council has specified that all new construction projects allocate at least 30 percent of their territories for trees. Now in force, the campaign will ensure that green areas are integrated into projects involving the construction of 2.5 thousand multi-storey buildings in the capital. In addition, trees are to be planted on at least one hectare of land in each of the 38 New Uzbekistan residential compounds. Barren land along roads and railways, rivers and canals, and around industrial enterprises and gas stations offers further potential for a greener Uzbekistan.