ASBP-2

The Aral Sea Basin Program (ASBP-2). The “Program of Concrete actions to improve the environmental and socio-economic situation in the Aral Sea Basin for the period 2003-2010” was approved by the IFAS Board on August 28, 2003.

The program included 14 priority areas and 57 project proposals, combined into four blocks: water management, socio-economic, environmental and environmental monitoring. It contained both regional and national projects and consisted of soft and hard components.

The development of ASBP-2 was carried out by the Executive Committee of IFAS together with ICWC and ICSD with the participation of ministries and departments of the region and broad involvement of international organizations, the donor community and the public. Support in its preparation was provided by the Swiss Cooperation Office, European Union, OSCE and USAID.

Within the framework of ASBP-2, many projects were implemented aimed at improving the social situation of the population of the region, solving complex water management problems, restoring ecological systems and monitoring the environment. Much attention was paid to providing the population with clean drinking water, improving the state of health and education, restoring the disturbed ecology, creating local reservoirs in the deltas of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers, developing the drained bottom and restoring the northern part of the Aral Sea. Significant efforts have also been made to promote sustainable management of natural resources and strengthen regional cooperation.

Through the efforts of IFAS structural units, about 20 million US dollars were attracted, which were directed to the implementation of more than 20 different projects and programs to improve the environmental and socio-economic situation in the region.

UNDP, the World Bank, the Asian Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the US Development Agency, as well as the governments of Switzerland, Japan, Finland, Norway, and others provided their support for the implementation of the Program.

The total contribution of the countries of the Central Asian region to the implementation of activities for the period from 2002 to 2010 amounted to more than 2 billion US dollars.