The Aral Sea, which was once one of the largest lakes in the world, now doesn’t exist due to human action. However, there are two bodies of water; the North Aral Sea is on the Kazakhstan side, and the South Aral Sea is in Uzbekistan. To reserve the bit, Kazakhstan decided to separate the Aral Sea with an 8-mile long dam to make the lake independent by splitting the northern part. Consequently, water levels of the northern part started to revive, the salinity levels decreased with the return of the fish, which led to restoring the fishing industry.

The south part remains desert. Since cotton has been the chief export of Uzbekistan, the main river that flows into the south is diverted into cotton production, which means there is still little chance of recovery from the sea. According to estimates, every year 75 million tons of dust and salt from the lake blow in the air causing hazy conditions and lower quality. Uzbekistan in association with the UNDP began planting shrubs called saxaul turning desert into the forest. Being highly drought-resistant, it stores water putting down its roots to take water which helps fix the soil. It has occupied a crucial role in preventing the spread of salts.

A wide range of activities is being conducted to save the Aral Sea from extinction. The European Investment Bank (EIB) launched regional efforts to restore the ecosystem of the sea with environmental projects in more than 150 countries. Today, the bank is working towards investment plans to consider the principal sources of the catastrophe and looking for ways to refurbish the current inefficient irrigation.