SDGs

Greening of the Dried Aral Sea Project

Project type ARR
Location Kazakhstan
Project ID Verra: 5628

Project overview

The Greening of the Dried Aral Sea Project is a Green Earth afforestation programme in Kazakhstan, planting saxaul and other drought-tolerant species across the dried bed of what was once the world's fourth-largest lake. The Aral Sea's collapse over the second half of the twentieth century left a vast, salt-laden plain that has since become a source of toxic dust storms across Central Asia.

The project addresses both a climate and a regional public-health challenge. Saxaul plantings stabilise the dried lake bed, reduce dust-storm intensity, and rebuild surface cover that had been lost over decades. As the canopy develops, the project sequesters carbon and creates the early conditions for wildlife to return to a landscape that had become close to unliveable.

The site is one of the most demanding restoration environments Green Earth operates in. Water is scarce, temperatures swing widely, and the substrate is saline. Species selection, planting density, and aftercare are calibrated specifically for those conditions, with progress monitored through a combination of satellite imagery and on-the-ground inspection.

Community benefits

Air quality improvement: Mitigating the toxic dust storms significantly improves respiratory health and living conditions for surrounding communities.
Economic revitalisation: By restoring the land, the project lays the groundwork for future sustainable land-use industries in former fishing villages.
Employment generation: The large-scale planting effort creates essential green jobs for residents in ecologically vulnerable areas like the Kyzylorda Region (Kazakhstan) and Karakalpakstan (Uzbekistan).

Environmental and biodiversity benefits

Carbon sequestration: Transforming the barren landscape targets a lifetime emissions reduction of 1.6 million tonnes of CO₂.
Dust storm suppression: Planting resilient saxaul trees stabilises the exposed seabed, actively suppressing toxic salt and dust storms.
Desertification reversal: The deep-rooted vegetation anchors the soil, halting the aggressive spread of the desert across the Kyzylorda Region.

Project information

Location	Aral Sea in the Kyzylorda Region, Kazakhstan
Country	Kazakhstan
Developer	Green Earth Group N.V.
Type	Afforestation, Reforestation and Revegetation (ARR), nature-based
Methodology	VM0047, Afforestation, Reforestation, and Revegetation (ARR)
Registry listing	Verra VCS 5628
Credit period	41 years (2026–2067)