The Aral Sea, once the world's fourth-largest lake, has seen its area shrink by more than 90% since the 1960s, leading to large-scale desertification of the lakebed and becoming a major ecological disaster in Central Asia.
Chinese and Uzbek scientists have collaborated for many years to address the crisis through joint surveys, soil restoration, and water-saving agriculture. The research team from the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography of the Chinese Academy of Sciences provided 1.5 tons of salt-tolerant plant seeds, such as Salicornia, Tamarix, and Haloxylon, to Uzbekistan in 2024 to restore vegetation, reduce salt dust storms, and enhance biodiversity. Additionally, they promoted solar-powered drip irrigation systems and intelligent irrigation technologies, tripling cotton yields while significantly reducing water usage and costs.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1835266047501396/
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