The country consistently implements a series of measures in rural regions—including forest restoration, pasture rehabilitation, water-saving technologies, and conservation agriculture—supported by the state and aligned with commitments under the UN Convention to Combat Desertification. The update was shared by Bakdaulet Amangeldinov, chief expert on forest and flora restoration at Kazakhstan’s Forestry and Wildlife Committee under Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, during the Regional Dialogue on the Restoration of Landscapes in Central Asia in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
Kazakhstan aims to increase its forest area from 13.7 million hectares to 14.5 million hectares by 2030. Between 2021 and 2027, the country expects to plant around 2 billion trees and shrubs. So far, about 1.5 billion trees have been planted across roughly 930,000 hectares.
“A significant portion of forest planting and seeding is planned for degraded and desert lands in southern Kazakhstan,” Bakdaulet Amangeldinov said.
In the Aral region, authorities plan to restore forests across 1.1 million hectares. Currently, about 806,000 hectares of the dried Aral Seabed have been planted with saxaul. The hardy desert tree is seen as a natural solution to the ecological crisis caused by the spread of salt, sand, and dust from the exposed seabed, which can travel far beyond Kazakhstan’s borders. Black saxaul grows well in saline soils, stabilizes sand, helps prevent dust storms, and boosts forage resources in desert pastures.
A forest nursery established in 2024 in the Kyzylorda region now produces 3 million saxaul seedlings annually. In 2025, construction of a new nursery directly on the dried Aral Seabed has also begun.
Kazakhstan is also moving to scale up the use of closed-root planting material, contrary to the traditional, this method prevents root damage during transportation and planting and raises seedling survival rates to as high as 90 percent.
Bakdaulet Amangeldinov said construction of six new forest seed farms, capable of producing a combined 6 million seedlings a year, will begin in 2026. He emphasized that Kazakhstan is urging the international community to support efforts to preserve biodiversity across Central Asia—and in Kazakhstan specifically.
It is recalled that the Agency for Increasing Forests and Green Areas and Combating Desertification under the National Committee on Ecology and Climate Change of Uzbekistan hosted the Regional Dialogue on the Restoration of Landscapes in Central Asia on 9–10 December 2025 in Tashkent.
Government officials from Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, together with international experts, discussed enhancing regional cooperation in forest management and transboundary landscape restoration. The event was held under the World Bank–funded Central Asia Resilient Landscapes Restoration Program (RESILAND CA+), the largest ecosystem restoration initiative in the region, which supports climate resilience across all five Central Asian countries through projects implemented by national authorities.
The Program is aimed at strengthening climate resilience in urban and rural areas of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
The Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC) is implementing the regional component of the RESILAND Kyrgyz Republic, RESILAND Tajikistan, and RESILAND Uzbekistan projects.
Additional information:
Dilovarsho Dustzoda — Deputy Team Leader of the Project Implementation Group for “Sustainable Landscape Restoration in the Republic of Tajikistan: Regional Component”, CAREC
Lyudmila Kiktenko – Deputy Team Leader, “Restoration of Sustainable Landscapes in Kyrgyzstan: Regional Component” Project, CAREC
Azamat Kauazov - Deputy Team Leader of Uzbekistan Resilient Landscape Restoration project: regional component, CAREC