On 29 October 2025, in Astana, Mr. S. Bekmaganbetov, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Committee of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS), and Mr. S. Mukatayev, Head of the Executive Directorate of IFAS in the Republic of Kazakhstan, spoke at a press conference dedicated to the project “Improvement of the Ecosystem of the Dried Bottom of the Aral Sea Using the Innovative E-seed Technology”.
The innovative environmental project aims to achieve long-term improvement of the ecosystem in the Aral Sea region and is aligned with the environmental focus area of the Fourth Aral Sea Basin Program (ASBP-4) for the period up to 2030. The project will be implemented by the Bulat Utemuratov Foundation and the Executive Directorate of IFAS in Kazakhstan, in partnership with Korkyt Ata Kyzylorda University and the University of California, Berkeley. A four-party Memorandum of Understanding has been signed.
The E-seed technology is based on the use of aerial seeding with drones that disperse special self-burying seeds enclosed in biodegradable material. This method minimizes labor costs while ensuring high planting speed and wide area coverage.
A test planting over an area of 1 hectare will start in spring 2026, and under the second phase of the pilot project in 2027, the planting will be expanded to 50 hectares.
