Aral Sea Ecosystem Restoration

Systematic efforts are underway to conserve biodiversity and restore habitats for threatened wildlife in the Aral Sea region, a cross-border landscape shared by Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.

• In June 2026, 672 houbara bustards (Chlamydotis macqueenii) were released in Karakalpakstan, an autonomous republic in western Uzbekistan.
• The release forms part of broader efforts to restore ecological stability and protect rare wildlife in the environmentally fragile Aral Sea region.

About Aral Sea 

• The Aral Sea was once the world’s fourth-largest inland water body.
• It straddles the boundary between Kazakhstan to the north and Uzbekistan to the south.
• Historically, the Aral Sea was sustained primarily by the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers.
• The region experienced decades of severe environmental degradation following the diversion of river water by the Soviet Union for cotton cultivation in Central Asia.
• Excessive diversion of water drastically reduced inflows into the endorheic lake, resulting in the near-disappearance of the Aral Sea.
• The exposed seabed subsequently transformed into the Aralkum Desert.
• Today, the Aral Sea is estimated to retain only around 10% of its 1960s size.
• The disappearance of much of the Aral Sea has significantly altered the region’s hydrological cycle.

CLICK HERE: UPSC PRELIMS & MAINS CURRENT AFFAIRS BASED WEEKLY TEST (ENG & HINDI)

CLICK HERE FOR GS TIMES PRAHAR UPSC GS MAINS TEST SERIES 

CLICK HERE: DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS QUIZ (FOR ALL EXAMINATIONS)