VEGETATION COVER WILL BE RESTORED AT THE BOTTOM OF THE DRIED-UP ARAL SEA

In December, vegetation will begin to be restored at the bottom of the dried-up part of the Aral Sea. This is done to reduce the number of so-called storms. The large-scale project is designed until 2025, the correspondent of Khabar 24 reports. These images, taken from the International Space Station very recently, show very clearly what remains of the former Aral Sea. An almost completely dried-up pond is located in the upper right part of the frame. And this video shows an extremely dangerous atmospheric phenomenon that is increasingly observed in the Aral region. The so-called salt storms always occur unexpectedly and cause a lot of trouble to the local population. The remains of herbicides washed from cotton fields in Uzbekistan have been accumulating on the bottom of the Aral Sea for several decades in a row. They got there with the waters of the Amu Darya. Now the salt and poisons are already on the surface. When inhaled, such an aerosol causes irreparable harm to the body. It is believed that the only way to stop the degradation of the soil at the bottom of the Aral Sea is to plant saxaul. Uzbekistan has been actively engaged in this for the past three years. And now our country is joining the work.

Vladimir Sanarov, inspector of the Kazavialesoohrana:

- Any event begins with preparation. This is a huge layer of work, especially in the conditions of the Aral Desert, where there is more than 100 kilometers of length, an absolute lack of roads and infrastructure. There is no connection at all. The salt desert moreover. Huge areas that are covered with dust. This is silt, and with salt. And now we have to prepare landing sites on these silt deposits. The work on sowing the saxaul on the Aral Sea bottom was entrusted to the republican state enterprise "Kazavialesookhrana". The peculiarity of the project is that aviation will be actively used here. This is the only way to cover the vast territory of the former sea. In a few days, the tender will be completed, where Kazakh airlines participate. At least 6 AN-2 aircraft, which usually work in the agricultural sector of the country, will be used in the works. Saxaul seeds were previously collected on the territory of the Ile-Balkhash Reserve. Now they have already been sent to the Kyzylorda region. According to Kazavialesookhran, the new project will seriously change the work of the enterprise.

Vladimir Sanarov, inspector of the Kazavialesoohrana:

- At a minimum, amendments and additions are needed in 6 regulatory and legislative acts. This is the charter of the enterprise, which should allow us to carry out these works, these are the rules for performing and carrying out work, these are the rules for forest reproduction, the rules for aviation work. At the first stage, with the help of aircraft, the seeds of saxaul will be sown on an area exceeding 64 thousand hectares. The work should be completed by December 20. The whole project is designed for the next 3 years. The estimated landing area of the saxaul is one and a half million hectares.

Authors: Grigory Bedenko, Eduard Kohn, Aben Narynbayev

https://24.kz/ru/news/social/item/513324-rastitelnyj-pokrov-vosstanovyat-na-dne-vysokhshego-aralskogo-morya