{"id":220714,"date":"2026-04-22T20:44:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T18:44:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/efecomunica.efe.com\/?p=220714"},"modified":"2026-04-22T22:35:48","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T20:35:48","slug":"central-asian-countries-approve-astana-declaration-of-ecological-solidarity-aral-sea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/efecomunica.efe.com\/en\/central-asian-countries-approve-astana-declaration-of-ecological-solidarity-aral-sea\/","title":{"rendered":"Central Asian countries approve Astana Declaration of Ecological Solidarity for Aral Sea"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Astana, Apr 22 (EFE).- The five Central Asian republics on Wednesday approved the <strong>Astana Declaration of Ecological Solidarity<\/strong>, with a particular focus on combating the desertification of the Aral Sea, which has undergone dramatic shrinkage since the mid-20th century.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe adoption of the Astana Declaration of Ecological Solidarity in Central Asia reflects the strengthening of environmental partnership,\u201d <strong>Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev<\/strong>, host of the <a href=\"https:\/\/res2026.kz\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Regional Ecological Summit<\/a> held in the Kazakh capital, said.<\/p>\n<p>The leader outlined the region\u2019s main environmental challenges, placing special emphasis on water security and the examples of the <strong>Aral and Caspian seas<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cThe Aral Sea constantly reminds us of the consequences of irrational policies, as well as what can be achieved through decisive, science-based action,\u201d he said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2>Restoring the Aral Sea<\/h2>\n<p>The sea, located between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, lost 80% of its volume between 1960 and 2010 due to uncontrolled irrigation, which drained the Syr Darya and Amu Darya rivers, and the intensive Soviet agricultural policy focused on cultivating \u201cwhite gold,\u201d cotton.<\/p>\n<p>Once the fourth-largest inland sea in the world, it is now virtually a <strong>dead ecosystem<\/strong>, as the water&#8217;s salt concentration has tripled over the last fifty years.<\/p>\n<p>Tokayev said that about <strong>36% of the northern part of the sea has now been restored<\/strong>, \u201cimproving water quality, increasing fish populations, and raising people\u2019s standard of living.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The head of state noted that Kazakhstan has planted more than <strong>1.5 billion trees<\/strong> across one million hectares over the past five years.<\/p>\n<p>This initiative includes planting saxaul\u2014an indigenous shrub of Central Asia\u2019s arid regions\u2014on the dried seabed of the Aral Sea to curb desertification. This project also involves specialists from Uzbekistan.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_220720\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-220720\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"220720\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/efecomunica.efe.com\/en\/central-asian-countries-approve-astana-declaration-of-ecological-solidarity-aral-sea\/imagen-central-asian-countries-approve-astana-declaration-of-ecological-solidarity-for-aral-sea\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/efecomunica.efe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/rss-efea5ec775959b7226affc08db1fcc0968c2e5332bdw.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1920,1232\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;EFE&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev speaking at the Central Asia Regional Ecological Summit held in the Kazakh capital. EFE\/Presidency of Kazakhstan \/ FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY \/ AVAILABLE ONLY TO ILLUSTRATE THE ACCOMPANYING NEWS STORY (MANDATORY CREDIT)&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1776856800&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Central Asian countries approve Astana Declaration of Ecological Solidarity for Aral Sea&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Imagen-Central Asian countries approve Astana Declaration of Ecological Solidarity for Aral Sea\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev speaking at the Central Asia Regional Ecological Summit held in the Kazakh capital. The five Central Asian republics on Wednesday approved the Astana Declaration of Ecological Solidarity, with a particular focus on combating the desertification of the Aral Sea, which has undergone dramatic shrinkage since the mid-20th century. EFE\/Presidency of Kazakhstan \/ FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY \/ AVAILABLE ONLY TO ILLUSTRATE THE ACCOMPANYING NEWS STORY (MANDATORY CREDIT)&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev speaking at the Central Asia Regional Ecological Summit held in the Kazakh capital. The five Central Asian republics on Wednesday approved the Astana Declaration of Ecological Solidarity, with a particular focus on combating the desertification of the Aral Sea, which has undergone dramatic shrinkage since the mid-20th century. EFE\/Presidency of Kazakhstan \/ FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY \/ AVAILABLE ONLY TO ILLUSTRATE THE ACCOMPANYING NEWS STORY (MANDATORY CREDIT)&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/efecomunica.efe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/rss-efea5ec775959b7226affc08db1fcc0968c2e5332bdw-1024x657.jpg\" class=\"size-large wp-image-220720\" src=\"https:\/\/efecomunica.efe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/rss-efea5ec775959b7226affc08db1fcc0968c2e5332bdw-1024x657.jpg\" alt=\"Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev speaking at the Central Asia Regional Ecological Summit held in the Kazakh capital. The five Central Asian republics on Wednesday approved the Astana Declaration of Ecological Solidarity, with a particular focus on combating the desertification of the Aral Sea, which has undergone dramatic shrinkage since the mid-20th century. EFE\/Presidency of Kazakhstan \/ FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY \/ AVAILABLE ONLY TO ILLUSTRATE THE ACCOMPANYING NEWS STORY (MANDATORY CREDIT)\" width=\"800\" height=\"513\" srcset=\"https:\/\/efecomunica.efe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/rss-efea5ec775959b7226affc08db1fcc0968c2e5332bdw-1024x657.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/efecomunica.efe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/rss-efea5ec775959b7226affc08db1fcc0968c2e5332bdw-300x193.jpg 300w, https:\/\/efecomunica.efe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/rss-efea5ec775959b7226affc08db1fcc0968c2e5332bdw-768x493.jpg 768w, https:\/\/efecomunica.efe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/rss-efea5ec775959b7226affc08db1fcc0968c2e5332bdw-1120x719.jpg 1120w, https:\/\/efecomunica.efe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/rss-efea5ec775959b7226affc08db1fcc0968c2e5332bdw-1536x986.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/efecomunica.efe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/rss-efea5ec775959b7226affc08db1fcc0968c2e5332bdw-430x276.jpg 430w, https:\/\/efecomunica.efe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/rss-efea5ec775959b7226affc08db1fcc0968c2e5332bdw-1200x770.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/efecomunica.efe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/rss-efea5ec775959b7226affc08db1fcc0968c2e5332bdw.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-220720\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev speaking at the Central Asia Regional Ecological Summit held in the Kazakh capital. The five Central Asian republics on Wednesday approved the Astana Declaration of Ecological Solidarity, with a particular focus on combating the desertification of the Aral Sea, which has undergone dramatic shrinkage since the mid-20th century. EFE\/Presidency of Kazakhstan \/ FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY \/ AVAILABLE ONLY TO ILLUSTRATE THE ACCOMPANYING NEWS STORY (MANDATORY CREDIT)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>Caspian Sea conservation<\/h2>\n<p>Regarding the conservation of the Caspian Sea, <strong>Tokayev called on all interested international organizations<\/strong>, including the United Nations, to support efforts to preserve it.<\/p>\n<p>He recalled that Kazakhstan has launched an interstate program to prevent further deterioration of the Caspian and created a research institute for the sea to promote regional scientific cooperation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cProtecting the Caspian Sea is vital to maintaining ecological balance, biodiversity, and the region\u2019s sustainable development,\u201d he said, calling for \u201cany military action in the region to be ruled out and prohibited,\u201d in reference to the war in Iran, which has turned the Caspian into a theater of military operations.<\/p>\n<p>The Astana Declaration also includes a provision for the creation of a <strong>regional digital ecosystem<\/strong> that will leverage the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to protect natural resources and improve environmental monitoring. EFE<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Astana, Apr 22 (EFE).- The five Central Asian republics on Wednesday approved the Astana Declaration of Ecological Solidarity, with a particular focus on combating the desertification of the Aral Sea, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":198164071,"featured_media":220719,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[123776,127390,123779,123782],"tags":[124572,124444],"class_list":["post-220714","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-environment","category-international-cooperation","category-politics","category-sustainability","tag-kassym-jomart-tokayev","tag-kazakhstan"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - 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