XIEG Holds International Symposium on Ecological Restoration and Management of the Aral Sea

30 11, 2020

The International Symposium on Ecological Restoration and Management of the Aral Sea was held at the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography(XIEG) under Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) from November 24 to 25. More than 200 government officials, heads of international organizations, experts and scholars from more than 30 countries and regions, including China, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, Belgium, Germany, Austria, South Africa, Kenya, South Korea, India and the United States, attended the symposium online and offline.

Academician Bai Chunli, President of ANSO, sent a letter of congratulations that read out by the Executive Director, Prof Jinghua Cao. Prof. Bai said in the letter that the Aral Sea issue has been widely concerned by relevant UN organizations and the international community, and become one of ANSO’s major topics and priorities. "In order to strengthen the Aral Sea's ecological environment protection, I call on scientists from all over the world to work together to conduct joint scientific research and dialogue, and exchange experience on the Aral Sea issue, and join hands to put forward scientific solutions," he said.

In his speech, Mr. Ibrokhim Abdurakhmonov, Minister for Innovative Development of Uzbekistan, first expressed his gratitude to the organizers for their efforts in putting the meeting together. He also thanked XIEG for sharing its knowledge on the Aral Sea management over the past few years, and concluded that under the future cooperation framework, he believed that more achievements would be made through joint research.

Dr. Jusipbek Kazbekov, First Deputy Prime Minister of Karakalpakstan Republic of Uzbekistan introduced the Uzbek government’s efforts in the Aral Sea management. He believed that the fruitful cooperation among Uzbekistan, China and the international community as a whole, as well as the mobilization of financial resources of donor countries and international organizations, would certainly contribute significantly to the development of the Aral Sea area.

Ms. Jiang Yan, Chinese Ambassador to Uzbekistan also stressed that the Aral Sea is a matter of the well-being of all mankind. China is ready to keep working with Uzbekistan in promoting environment protection in areas along the Belt and Road, jointly building the "green Silk Road", and contributing to reaching the UN's 2030 sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Prof. Zhang Yuanming, director of XIEG, said that the symposium brought together experts and scholars from various scientific research institutions and international organizations to carry out dialogue and exchange on the Aral Sea issue, discuss the "Green Aral Sea International Megascience Initiative", and put forward to address the ecological environment problems of the Aral Sea with scientific and innovative technological means. He added that Chinese and foreign researchers share the same sense of responsibility and mission, a high degree of consensus, as well as the determination to contribute to regional sustainable development.

Prof. Avazjon Marakhimov, President of National University of Uzbekistan, one of the co-organizers of the meeting, expressed firm belief in his speech that based on the previous collaboration between his university and XIEG, their future cooperation would certainly contribute to scientific decision-making and technological development in the Aral Sea region.

On behalf of Executive Secretary Mr. Ibrahim Thiaw, Ms. Jia Xiaoxia from the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention on Combating Desertification (UNCCD), congratulated the opening of the symposium and said that, in view of the urgency of the Aral Sea crisis that had accelerated its impact on the regional environment, UNCCD would support Central Asian countries in formulating development programs and action plans at the national and regional levels to reduce the occurrence of drought and dust, and share the "Green Aral Sea Megascience Initiative" released at this symposium in the organization’s 2020 action plan.

Ms. Yasmin Siddiqi, Director of Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture Division of Central and West Asia Department, ADB, pointed out the great challenges posed by the Aral Sea issue and proposed actions to address them. She also stressed the importance of strengthening partnership in responding to the Aral Sea issue.

Prof. Manzoor Hussain Soomro, President of the ECO Science Foundation (ECOSF), talked about the importance of science education in supporting the global community to cope with environmental challenges, and said that the ECOSF would provide a platform for the cultivation of young scientists to help them solve the global challenges brought by environmental changes in a more intelligent way.

During the meeting that lasted two half days, the participants made 21 academic reports and joined fruitful expert discussions. They exchanged academic views and shared experiences on three main topics, including "the mechanism and harm of the Aral Sea crisis", "the application prospects and cases of green innovative technology in the Aral Sea management" and "the role of international cooperation in regional sustainable development". Meanwhile, the "Green Aral Sea International Megascience Initiative" was released. The symposium was held to gather multilateral strengths, establish a cooperation mechanism of scientific research and green innovative technology application with multinational participation, and make contributions to sustainable development of Central Asia, realization of UN SDGs and improvement of the people’s well-being.