During his official visit to Tajikistan, Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev delivered a statement at the Meeting of the Council of the Heads of Founding States of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea, media reports.
In his address, Tokayev emphasized the complex challenges and obstacles currently faced by the region, including the serious risks posed to the security of Central Asia by the impact of global climate change and the limited availability of irrigation water.
These issues represent significant concerns for the stability and sustainability of the region and will require concerted efforts and collaboration to address effectively.
International experts have reported that the temperature in Central Asia is rising at a faster rate than the global average. Consequently, the glaciers in the Aral Sea basin, which are the primary source of water, are reducing in size. Over the past 50 years, their volume has decreased by 30%. Analysts predict that if this trend persists, droughts in Central Asia could result in economic damage equivalent to 1.3% of GDP per year by 2050. This, in turn, could lead to the displacement of about 5mn "climatic" migrants within the region,
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said.
The Aral Sea, located between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, shrank significantly due to Soviet irrigation projects in the 1960s and eventually dried up by the 2010s. It was once the fourth-largest lake in the world and had over 1,100 islands. Its drainage basin covers parts of seven countries.
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