International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea

International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea

Международный Фонд спасения Арала
The Aral Sea has lost over 90% of its water volume since the 1960s.
Central Asia Region
Abbreviation	IFAS
Founded	January 4, 1993 (1993-01-04)
Founder	Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan
Type	Intergovernmental organization
Purpose	Funding projects that address the environmental and economic issues caused by the shrinking of the Aral Sea
Headquarters	Almaty, Kazakhstan
Locations	Tashkent, Uzbekistan Dushanbe, Tajikistan
President	Kassym-Jomart Tokayev (since 2024)
Chairman of the Executive Committee	Askhat T. Orazbay
Affiliations	United Nations; World Bank Group; European Union; German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ); Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC); United Nations Development Programme
Website	https://ecifas.kz/en/

The International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS) is an intergovernmental organization that was established in accordance with the decision of the Heads of State of Central Asia in 1993. The primary goal of IFAS is to finance and support collaborative initiatives and ecological and scientific-practical projects aimed at restoring areas affected by the Aral Sea disaster and addressing the regional socio-economic challenges, while taking into account the interests of all countries in the region.

History

On 23 June 1990, the Central Asian leaders issued a joint statement in Almaty, acknowledging the environmental crisis and calling for collective action to restore ecological balance. This led to the creation of an inter-republican commission and the foundation of the Fund to assist the affected populations.

In 1992, President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan called on regional leaders to unite in mitigating the negative impact of the Aral Sea's shrinking. On 4 January 1993, President of Kazakhstan, President Askar Akayev of Kyrgyzstan, Chairman of the Supreme Council of Tajikistan Emomali Rakhmonov, President Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan, and President Saparmurat Niyazov of Turkmenistan assembled in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The leaders discussed key issues posed by the Aral Sea such as price policies, communication development, energy supply, and the environmental challenges.

Recognizing their shared concerns and interests, members agreed to adopt a collective approach to address the Aral Sea crisis. This initiative was formalized in the Joint Communiqué of the Heads of State of Central Asia and on 26 March 1993 the Agreement on Joint Actions was signed in Kyzylorda, which formally established the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS). As part of the agreement, President Nazarbayev was elected as the first president of the Fund.

Mission

IFAS emerged as a necessity to mitigate the catastrophic environmental and human impacts caused by the Aral Sea's desiccation, attributed to unsustainable irrigation practices during the Soviet era. The fund's founding aimed to ensure equitable distribution of water resources among the Aral Sea Basin countries while addressing ecological rehabilitation and economic challenges. Early efforts included restoring delta ecosystems, controlling desertification from the exposed seabed, and reducing salt and dust storms that had devastating regional and global impacts.

IFAS also serves as a hub for collaboration, facilitating research, securing international funding, and establishing partnerships with global organizations to support sustainable development goals. In addition, IFAS works on capacity-building programs for regional stakeholders, strengthening water management capabilities through training and research. By integrating modern technologies and fostering knowledge exchange, IFAS continues to support the sustainable development of the Aral Sea region.

Structure

The Council of Heads of State of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea is the highest governing body of IFAS.

This Council formulates and recommends policies to align the region's productive capacities with its natural resource potential. It also endorses intergovernmental legal and regulatory acts, establishes common principles for the management, use, and protection of water resources across the region, and regulates intergovernmental relations related to water management and environmental protection activities.

Meetings of the Council of Heads of State (IFAS Summits) are held during the chairmanship of each founding state of the Fund, where key decisions are made on vital regional issues concerning water resources, environmental protection, and the socio-economic situation in the Aral Sea basin.

The founding member states of the Fund are the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and the Republic of Uzbekistan. The leadership of IFAS is rotated every three years among the Presidents of the Central Asian states.

Presidents of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (1993-2026)

No.	Country	Executive name	Term	Key contributions
1	Kazakhstan	Nursultan Nazarbayev	1993-1996	Established IFAS and outlined initial goals.
2	Uzbekistan	Islam Karimov	1997-1999	Focused on water-sharing agreements and regional cooperation.
3	Turkmenistan	Saparmurat Niyazov	1999-2001	Strengthened ecological restoration efforts.
4	Tajikistan	Emomali Rakhmonov	2002-2008	Led IFAS from 2002 to 2008; his term was extended after the Kyrgyz Republic declined to assume leadership. Implemented programs addressing socio-economic challenges.
5	Kazakhstan	Nursultan Nazarbayev	2009-2012	Advanced regional water resource management.
6	Uzbekistan	Islam Karimov	2013-2016	Promoted ASBP initiatives for sustainable development.
7	Turkmenistan	Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov	2017-2020	Enhanced international partnerships for Aral Sea restoration.
8	Tajikistan	Emomali Rakhmonov	2020-2023	Strengthened regional collaboration and environmental policies.
9	Kazakhstan	Kassym-Jomart Tokayev	2024-2026 (Planned)	Approved a strategic work plan for the Aral Sea basin.

Satellite images of the Aral Sea from 1989 to 2008. The desiccation of the Aral Sea has been called one of the world's worst environmental disasters.

Initiatives

The International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea has undertaken a range of initiatives to address the complex environmental, social, and economic challenges arising from the Aral Sea crisis. Central to these efforts are the Aral Sea Basin Programs (ASBP), which adopt a comprehensive approach to improving water resource management, fostering sustainable agricultural practices, and restoring degraded ecosystems. These programs emphasize reducing water losses, advancing water-saving technologies, and strengthening institutional frameworks for governance.

The ASBP prioritize integrated water resource management (IWRM), enabling a balanced and sustainable approach to water usage. Additional efforts focus on reforestation projects, such as planting saxaul trees, wetland restoration, and revitalizing local economies, particularly those impacted by the decline in fisheries and agriculture. Through these measures, ASBP aims to mitigate ecological damage while improving livelihoods in affected communities.

First Aral Sea Basin Program (ASBP-1)

The Aral Sea Basin Program (ASBP-1) was the first large-scale, multi-national initiative implemented between 1994 and 1997 to improve the socio-economic and environmental conditions in the Aral Sea region. Officially launched in 1993 and approved by the Heads of State of Central Asia in January 1994, the program was designed as a “Program of Concrete Actions to Improve the Environmental Situation in the Aral Sea Basin for the Next 3-5 Years”. It was developed under the framework of the Interstate Commission for Water Coordination (ICWC) with support from the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS) and international donors.

Objectives and Priorities

ASBP-1 targeted critical issues across the Aral Sea Basin, structured around four main priorities:

1. Environmental Stabilization. This included projects focused on mitigating desertification, preserving biodiversity, and protecting fragile ecosystems.
2. Socio-economic Development. The program aimed to improve the livelihoods of populations in the basin through economic support and infrastructure projects.
3. Water Resource Management. The stakeholders of the Aral Sea Basin Program (ASBP-1) sought to enhance the equitable and efficient allocation of water resources among the Central Asian states, taking into account the environmental needs of the Amudarya and Syrdarya river basins.
4. Institutional Development. Efforts were made to strengthen regional cooperation mechanisms and promote policy harmonization.

Budget and Implementation Timeline

The total cost of the Aral Sea Basin Program (ASBP-1) was $60.8 million, with $22.25 million funded through the World Bank's assistance. The work was divided into two phases:

The preparatory phase lasted between 3 to 5 years, with an estimated cost of around $30 million. The second phase of implementation spanned 10 to 15 years, with an estimated cost of 500 to 750 million USD. The second phase included a water and environmental management project implemented from 1998 to 2003, funded by the Global Environment Facility, along with contributions from the Governments of the Netherlands and Sweden.

Once the main tasks of the preparatory phase were completed, a joint review of the program's progress was conducted in 1997 by the Central Asian countries and international organizations involved in its financing, which resulted in recommendations for the implementation of the second phase. The achievements of ASBP-1 laid a strong foundation for future phases, including ASBP-2 and ASBP-3.

Key Achievements and Challenges

ASBP-1 made significant progress in establishing a regional framework for water and resource management, with successful infrastructure projects such as repairing irrigation systems and implementing tree-planting initiatives to combat desertification. Examples of the project's success include its focus on dam safety, with the assessment of selected dams across the five countries, the upgrading of monitoring and warning systems at nine dams, and the provision of training on dam safety monitoring and assessment. In transboundary water flow monitoring, the program enhanced capacity by purchasing and installing water flow and quality monitoring equipment at 25 stations. It also supported the restoration of Sudochye Wetland, a crucial nesting site for endangered migratory bird species.

However, the project faced several challenges, including insufficient coordination among participating countries, limited resources for long-term project implementation, and difficulties in reaching equitable water-sharing agreements between the basin countries.

The Aral Sea's dramatic shrinkage from the 1960s

Second Aral Sea Basin Program (ASBP-2)

The "Program of Concrete Actions to Improve the Environmental and Socio-Economic Situation in the Aral Sea Basin for the Period 2003-2010" (ASBP-2) was approved by the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS) Board on 28 August 2003, following a decision made by the Heads of States of the Central Asian countries on 6 October 2002, in Dushanbe.

ASBP-2 was implemented from 2003 to 2010 with a total budget of approximately $2 billion.

Third Aral Sea Basin Program (ASBP-3)

The "Action Program for Assistance to the countries of the Aral Sea basin for the period 2011-2015" (ASBP-3) was developed following the Resolution from the Heads of States on April 28, 2009, the Executive Committee of IFAS (EC IFAS), in collaboration with the Interstate Commission for Water Coordination (ICWC), the Interstate Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD), and national experts from Central Asian countries and donors. The draft resolution was supported by international donor organizations (as stated in the Joint Statement of Donors in Ashgabat on 20 July 2010) and was formally approved by the IFAS Board on 15 May 2012. The program was designed to implement approximately 300 national and regional projects with a total value of over $15 billion. However, due to a lack of financial resources, many of the planned regional projects were not realized. By 2016, the IFAS Executive Committee, in collaboration with international organizations and donors, was able to implement six regional projects valued at approximately $100 million. These projects were selected from the 335 proposals received, which were clustered into 47 priority projects.

Fourth Aral Sea Basin Program (ASBP-4)

The "Action Program for assistance to the countries of the Aral Sea Basin, 2021-2030" (ASBP-4) was developed under the chairmanship of Turkmenistan and in close cooperation with the founding states of the IFAS. The program was designed to continue the progress made by its predecessors—ASBP (1994-1999), ASBP-2 (2003-2010), and ASBP-3 (2011-2015) and was officially signed on 29 June 2021 during an IFAS Board meeting in Dushanbe, where four deputy prime ministers from the participating countries endorsed it.

The development of ASBP-4 began following the decision of the IFAS Board on 30 January 2018, which tasked the IFAS Executive Committee (EC IFAS) alongside the Interstate Commission for Water Coordination (ICWC) and the Interstate Commission on Sustainable Development (ICSD), to develop the program with input from national experts and international partners.

ASBP-4 was developed in close collaboration with international partners, notably through the support of the "Berlin Process", the precursor to the Green Central Asia initiative. This program, commissioned by the German Federal Foreign Office and implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), provided significant support during the drafting of ASBP-3 and ASBP-4.

As of now, Kazakhstan holds the chairmanship of IFAS, overseeing the continuation of ASBP-4's development and its alignment with regional priorities.

Bibliography

1. Sokolov, V. (2018). Handbook on Water Resources Management in Uzbekistan, 102–146

3. Sehring, Jennifer, & Saghit Ibatullin. (2020). River Basin Organization in Water Diplomacy: Prolonging or resolving water conflicts in Central Asia? Routledge (1) pg. 222-241. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429266270-12/prolonging-resolving-water-conflicts-central-asia-jenniver-sehring-saghit-ibatullin

4. Levintanus, A. (1992). Saving the Aral sea. International Journal of Water Resources Development, 8(1), 60–64. https://doi.org/10.1080/07900629208722534

5. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). (1993, March 26). Agreement on joint actions to solve the problem of the Aral Sea and the Aral Sea region, environmental rehabilitation and ensuring the socio-economic development of the Aral region. FAOLEX. https://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/mul67055.pdf

6. Sheraliyev, M. (2015). The Aral Sea crisis and its impact on the environment and economy of Central Asia. United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). https://unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/timber/meetings/20151102/presentations/item_5_Sheraliyev.pdf