Kazakhstan shows North Aral Sea Restoration progress at COP31

Vice Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Mansur Oshurbayev presented Kazakhstan’s efforts to restore the North Aral Sea and rehabilitate regional ecosystems at the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference in Antalya, Türkiye.

The ministry says water management projects helped preserve the northern part of the sea. These efforts included the construction of the Kokaral Dam with participation from the World Bank.

These actions resulted in the water volume of the North Aral Sea rising from 18.9 billion to more than 23 billion cubic metres in recent years. Kazakhstan is also performing large-scale afforestation on the dried seabed to lessen the environmental damage caused by the Aral Sea disaster. Between 2021 and 2025, the government conducted forest reclamation on more than 1.1 million hectares.

Workers are planting Saxaul, a desert shrub, to stabilize sandy soils and stop the spread of salt and dust from the exposed seabed. Oshurbayev stated that climate change adaptation in Central Asia depends primarily on water management. He argued that losing a water ecosystem affects regional land stability, climate, human health, and the economy. He called for more international cooperation, climate financing, and joint scientific monitoring to support the restoration of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems across the region.