Korea aids Aral Sea recovery

[Anchor]

In Central Asia, Uzbekistan, there is the Aral Sea, which was once the fourth largest lake in the world.

Now, in the area that has turned into a desert, our country is helping with recovery.

Residents are reviving their livelihoods through farming.

Reporter Yang Min-cheol has the story.

[Report]

Abandoned boats are scattered across the barren desert of Uzbekistan.

This is known as the "graveyard of ships."

Once the fourth largest lake in the world, this place was called the "Aral Sea."

However, since the 1960s, the diversion of water for agriculture has led to desertification.

Boats that once thrived in fishing activities are now left in disrepair, with doors ripped off and abandoned unsightly.

[Shadynov Ali Orazbayevich/Local resident near the Aral Sea/74 years old: "After the Aral Sea disappeared, all the people from Russia and Kazakhstan who were engaged in fishing here left."]

The Korea International Cooperation Agency has been conducting desertification response and agricultural training suitable for the local climate in collaboration with the Global Green Growth Institute for the past four years.

To avoid the salty winds blowing from the high-salinity Aral Sea, they are cultivating windbreak tree seedlings and have introduced sprinkler equipment that can provide water without waste.

[Ibrahim Akhimniyazhev/Chairman of Karauzyak Forestry Office: "(Since the introduction of sprinklers) we can now use the water that used to last a month for about six months. So we are saving a lot of water."]

They have also issued bonds worth approximately 1.4 trillion won to invest in eco-friendly agriculture in collaboration with local banks.

[Lee Seung-yeon/Head of the Global Green Growth Institute Uzbekistan Office: "We take pride in the fact that we have contributed directly and indirectly to attracting private capital so that local residents can adopt eco-friendly farming methods."]

Since opening an office in Uzbekistan in 1995, the Korea International Cooperation Agency has provided over 200 million dollars in aid through various projects, including health care and regional development.

This is KBS News, Yang Min-cheol.