An undated photo shows sea foam on the Aral Sea beach in Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan. /CFP
A joint scientific expedition on the ecological environment of the Aral Sea aimed at addressing the ecological crisis of the Aral Sea and jointly promoting green innovation cooperation in the region kicked off Friday in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
Abdukhakimov Aziz Abdukaxarovich, minister of ecology, environmental protection and climate change of the Republic of Uzbekistan, expressed gratitude to the Chinese government for its continuous support for scientific cooperation between the two countries at the launching ceremony.
He said that the expedition not only holds significant scientific value but will also play an important role in the future development of the Aral Sea region and the lives of local residents.
Chinese Ambassador to Uzbekistan Yu Jun described the ecological protection and restoration efforts in the Aral Sea region as an important part of practical cooperation between China and Uzbekistan, as well as between China and Central Asia.
He said that these efforts have been included in bilateral and multilateral documents multiple times and have become a consensus at the leadership level.
The joint scientific expedition will lay a solid research foundation for the comprehensive management of the Aral Sea, he said.
This combination of NASA satellite images shows the Aral Sea in 2008 (L) and as of September 22, 2013. /CFP
Zhang Yuanming, director of the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography (XIEG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), noted that the expedition, which is led by Chinese scientists, will conduct field studies on the biodiversity, soil, hydrology, and geomorphology of the dried-up lakebed to explore the mechanisms of ecological degradation in the Aral Sea.
The expedition also aims to propose "a roadmap for restoration and green development for the Aral Sea," he said.
Shakhlokhon Turdikulova, vice president of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan, said that China's experience in large-scale environmental management and restoration is very valuable to Uzbekistan.
The expedition, running from August 24 to September 5, is initiated by the XIEG of the CAS in collaboration with scientists from Uzbekistan, Russia and other countries.
Since 2013, the institute has carried out experiments and demonstrations of green innovation technology in the Aral Sea region, including efficient water-saving agriculture and the selection and promotion of salt-tolerant plants. An ecological environment monitoring network covering the entire basin has also been preliminarily established.