About IFAS
IFAS was established in 1993 by the Heads of State of Central Asia in order to overcome the environmental crisis and improve the socio-economic situation in the Aral Sea basin, recognized by the world community as one of the largest disasters of the 20th century. In 1993, the heads of states of Central Asia created the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS) and approved the Regulations on IFAS.
The President
Tokaev Kassym-Jomart Kemelevich
President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, President of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea
The Council of the Heads of the IFAS Founding States on the Problems of the Aral Sea Basin is the supreme body of IFAS.
Read completelyThe area of the Aral Sea basin covers about 700,000 square kilometers and includes Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, most part of southern Kazakhstan, and the northern part of Afghanistan. It is a kingdom of high mountains, dry steppes, semi-deserts and deserts.
Read completelyThe Aral Sea in its original form was located in the Northern desert part of Central Asia, within Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan and covered an area of 68 km2 with a volume of 1053 km3.
Read completelyLocated in the heart of Central Asia, the Aral Sea basin includes the basins of two major rivers: the Amu Darya and Syr Darya.
Read completelyThe use of water resources in Central Asia, mainly for drinking water and irrigation, began more than 6,000 years ago.
Read completelyIn former times, the unique isolation of the Aral Sea basin contributed to the development of such a richness and diversity of biota, which could be compared with Africa.
Read completelyNews
Astana, 18 September 2024 – The capital of the Republic of Kazakhstan hosted a meeting of the Board of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS) under chairmanship of the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan K.Bozumbaev.
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Astana, April 11, 2025 – At the invitation of the Embassy of the French Republic in the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Chairperson of the Executive Committee of IFAS, Mr. Askhat Orazbay, took part in a diplomatic reception on the occasion of the inauguration of the Representative Office of the French Development Agency (Agence Française de Développement – AFD) in Kazakhstan, in the city of Astana.
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On 10 April 2025, the second meeting of the Coordination Council of Development Partners in the Water Sector of the Republic of Kazakhstan was held in Astana under the co-chairmanship of Mr. Nurlan Nurzhigitov, Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation of Kazakhstan, and Ms. Katrin Vavvernia, Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Kazakhstan. The Council currently includes 35 partners.
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On 9 April 2025, the Executive Committee of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (EC IFAS) was visited by representatives of the Secretariat of the UNECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Geneva, Switzerland), as well as the International Water Assessment Centre (IWAC, Astana), which support the implementation of the Convention and its Protocol on Water and Health.
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Baku, April 3-5, 2025 – The Second Meeting of the Working Group for the ADB project "Strengthening the Development of Green Skills within the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Program" was held in Baku, Azerbaijan.
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Astana, April 11, 2025 – At the invitation of the Embassy of the French Republic in the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Chairperson of the Executive Committee of IFAS, Mr. Askhat Orazbay, took part in a diplomatic reception on the occasion of the inauguration of the Representative Office of the French Development Agency (Agence Française de Développement – AFD) in Kazakhstan, in the city of Astana.
Read completelyEvents
On 10 April 2025, the second meeting of the Coordination Council of Development Partners in the Water Sector of the Republic of Kazakhstan was held in Astana under the co-chairmanship of Mr. Nurlan Nurzhigitov, Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation of Kazakhstan, and Ms. Katrin Vavvernia, Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Kazakhstan. The Council currently includes 35 partners.
Read completelyEvents
On 9 April 2025, the Executive Committee of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (EC IFAS) was visited by representatives of the Secretariat of the UNECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Geneva, Switzerland), as well as the International Water Assessment Centre (IWAC, Astana), which support the implementation of the Convention and its Protocol on Water and Health.
Read completelyEvents
Baku, April 3-5, 2025 – The Second Meeting of the Working Group for the ADB project "Strengthening the Development of Green Skills within the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Program" was held in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Read completelyPress releases
The IFAS Executive Committee is a permanent body of the Fund and is created by a decision of the IFAS President and is located on a rotation basis in the country presiding over the IFAS.
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On June 23, 1990, an appeal to the peoples of Central Asia and the first Joint Statement by the leaders of the countries of Central Asia was announced in Almaty, where the environmental disaster of the Aral Sea region was first recognized as an acute problem in the region. In 1992, the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan N. Nazarbayev addressed the Heads of State of the Central Asian countries should join efforts to mitigate the negative impact of the drying up of the Aral Sea on the environment and the population of the region.
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From sea to desert...
Tragedy of the Aral Sea
The Aral Sea basin crisis is a very dramatic event of our time. In the recent past, the Aral Sea was a unique natural object - a brackish lake-sea with a volume of 1083 km3 and an area of 68 thousand km2, with high biological productivity and a unique world of living organisms.
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EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR SAVING THE ARAL SEA
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR SAVING THE ARAL SEA © 2025
Scructure of IFAS
Council of Heads of State
IFAS board
ICSD
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