Feature: How Chinese scientists help crack Aral Sea crisis

For years, scientists from China and Uzbekistan have collaborated to tackle the Aral Sea crisis, with endeavors ranging from joint research expeditions to soil remediation and water-efficient agricultural practices.

TASHKENT, June 16 (Xinhua) -- As the Aral Sea, once the world's fourth-largest lake, continues to shrink and the ecological crisis worsens, scientists from China and Uzbekistan are working together to help revive the region's vitality.

Situated between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, the Aral Sea has lost more than 90 percent of its original surface area since the 1960s, leaving behind vast stretches of desertified lakebed.

The vast salt-covered areas have become a major source of sweeping dust and salt storms. With desertification, soil degradation and biodiversity collapse compounding the crisis, the environmental fallout stretches far across Central Asia.

Ban Ki-moon, former secretary-general of the United Nations, called the Aral Sea's disappearance "one of the worst environmental disasters of the world" after a helicopter tour of the area in 2010.

For years, scientists from China and Uzbekistan have collaborated to tackle the Aral Sea crisis, with endeavors ranging from joint research expeditions to soil remediation and water-efficient agricultural practices.

In late May, Wang Ping, researcher at Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, an affiliate of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, returned to Nukus in western Uzbekistan, one of his many trips to the Aral Sea region. This time, he and his team introduced two key solutions: salt-tolerant plant seeds and solar technology.

"Water scarcity, soil salinization, and the lack of modern agricultural systems are pressing challenges for Central Asia's development," said Wang. On his latest trip, he and his colleagues brought a batch of salt-tolerant plant seeds, including Salicornia europaea, Halostachys caspica, Haloxylon ammodendron and Suaeda glauca, with the goal of cultivating them locally to restore vegetation, boost biodiversity and reduce salt storms.

A few months earlier, Wang's institute shipped about 1.5 tons of salt-tolerant plant seeds to Tashkent as part of plans to establish a joint saline plant garden with Uzbek counterparts. "These seeds will support land restoration efforts and serve as a foundation for biodiversity research," Wang said.

Besides providing salt-tolerant seeds, Chinese researchers have been promoting solar-powered solutions to support ecological restoration around the Aral Sea. In Muynak, Wang and his team helped install drip irrigation systems powered by photovoltaic panels, enabling efficient water use for plant cultivation.

In Nukus, a joint China-Uzbekistan research project has introduced an innovative solar-powered smart irrigation system for cotton cultivation. By integrating photovoltaic panels, plastic-mulch drip irrigation and smart fertigation, the project has tripled cotton yields and significantly reduced production costs and water consumption.

Uzbek political observer Sharofiddin Tulaganov said that the Aral Sea crisis is a shared challenge for Central Asia and no single nation can solve it alone, noting that China-Uzbekistan cooperation has yielded tangible results in ecological rehabilitation with China's contributions earning widespread respect.

Jointly pursuing green innovation not only restores the region's ecology but also forges a sustainable future across Central Asia, Tulaganov added.■