On November 16, 2024, OISCA and students from Karakalpakstan Agricultural University, our counterpart in Uzbekistan, planted 10,000 Saxaul trees on approximately 10 hectares of land, where desert greening is underway at the bottom of dried Lake Aral Sea.
In addition, from November 18 to 21, we collaborated with the UNDP Mukus office to conduct a seminar for local residents on the cultivation of Costance deserticola, a raw material for Chinese herbal medicine. This seminar was held for a total of 72 residents of three villages, including the Moynaq area, at the request of the local community, as a result of the popularity of a similar seminar held in the previous year.
In addition to this, we are strengthening our partnership with UNDP to expand the greening of the Aral Sea by jointly planting 110,000 trees for research to develop afforestation techniques in areas where soil salinity is high and Saxaul is difficult to grow.
Besides our own afforestation, OISCA has been coordinating with research institutions and international organizations to share OISCA’s research results and technology, as we believe this will contribute to the greening of even larger areas. Dr. Satoshi Togashi, an expert who has been coordinating with the local forestry department and UNDP, expressed his aspirations: “This year we were able to make significant progress in the first phase of our collaboration with UNDP, and we hope to continue to make a significant contribution to the greening of the Aral Sea through the power of cooperation and solidarity, something OISCA alone cannot achieve.
