Lessons from China for ecological protection and restoration of the Aral Sea Basin

Abstract

The Aral Sea ecological collapse represents Central Asia's most severe human-induced environmental catastrophe, stemming from long-term unregulated agricultural water extraction and compounded by transboundary water conflicts, funding shortages, backward eco-technologies and fragmented regional governance. Drawing on 2021-2026 international literature, this paper systematically identifies four core ecological crises across the Aral Sea Basin, summarizes China's replicable institutional, technical and practical experience in arid inland basin governance, and analyzes four major barriers limiting the localized application of China's restoration models in Central Asia. Under the Green Silk Road framework, this study proposes targeted China–Central Asia collaborative solutions covering field pilot vegetation restoration, transboundary water quota coordination, water-saving agricultural transformation and integrated intelligent ecological monitoring. The research provides theoretical support for multilateral joint ecological protection of the Aral Sea and enriches global restoration governance paradigms for arid inland lakes.