Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 19 January 2024, a round table was held in Tashkent on the results of four expeditions of the Scientific Information Center of the Interstate Coordination Water Commission of Central Asia (SIC ICWC) on the dried bottom of the Aral Sea, supported by the UN Development Program in 2019-2023.

The disappearance of the Aral Sea led to the formation of the Aralkum salt desert on the site of the dried bottom with an area of about 5 million hectares, 2.9 million hectares of which are located on the territory of Uzbekistan. This area represents an unstable ecological system and poses a threat to both the environment and the health of the local population. Mitigating the negative consequences of the drying up of the Aral Sea, improving the conditions and quality of life of the region’s population is identified as one of the priority areas of state policy. It should be noted that on 18 May 2021, at the proposal of the President of Uzbekistan, the UN Assembly Resolution “Declaring the Aral Sea region as a zone of environmental innovation and technology” was adopted.

Later, in January 2022, the government of Uzbekistan adopted a Comprehensive Roadmap for the Development of the Aral Sea Region. Also, in 2018, an afforestation program was launched in the dried up part of the Aral Sea, and today, out of 2.9 million/ha of drained areas of the sea, 1.8 million/ha are already covered with saxaul. At the same time, for greater efficiency and sustainability of further measures, it is necessary to have a complete understanding of the current state of the environmental disaster zone and the changes occurring there based on scientific data. For this purpose, monitoring of the dried bottom has been initiated, where, in addition to natural processes of instability, there is intense anthropogenic pressure.

Expeditions of SIC ICWC, which took place in four stages - in the period 2019-2023 were carried out with the involvement of representatives of the scientific center for the Aral Sea region, as well as with the participation of specialists in the field of ecology, soil science, hydrogeology, dendrology, botany and GIS. The total coverage of the study area was 2.7 million hectares, from Chink to the Kazakh border, and from the water’s edge to the historical sea mark.

The soils were assessed and classified, a soil map was created, and possible zones for the transfer of salts and dust were identified. The conditions and direction of soil cover formation have been established. Other key results of the expeditions include the study of the hydrogeological situation, groundwater levels, their mineralization and determination of their purpose and use; carrying out a geobotanical description of vegetation, collecting a herbarium of plants, establishing patterns of formation and preservation of plant cover; assessment of forest dynamics through scientific field studies.

In the period from 2005 to 2011, SIC ICWC, together with representatives of international organizations, carried out complex expeditions, including soil, hydrogeological and geobotanical studies, using data from satellite images. Current expeditions have made it possible to determine methods for retrospective analysis of satellite images of that period, prepare thematic territorial GIS maps, and compare changes in landscape classes and risk zones over the past 10 years. Simultaneous remote observations and GIS maps developed using GPS based on the collected data allowed us to develop a concept for more accurate space-based monitoring of forest cover in the future.

As noted during the round table, the data obtained provide scientists with a unique opportunity to study the processes of formation of natural landscapes on a dried bottom. Completion of the study will allow the data to be compiled and the creation of a geographic information system of the dry seabed, which, in turn, will serve as a reliable basis for all subsequent work on the implementation of environmental innovations based on scientific data in this region. These activities are aimed at creating and preserving a natural environment favorable for human life and the existence of flora and fauna.

The first two expeditions were carried out in 2019-2020 as part of the joint UNDP-UNESCO project, the next two expeditions were carried out in 2023 as part of the joint project of UNDP, UNICEF and FAO “Empowering youth towards a bright future through green and innovative Development of the Aral Sea Region” financed by the UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund for Human Security in the Aral Sea Region.