Friday, August 03, 2012 -
Turkmenistan has formulated a plan to prevent the desertification around the shores of the desiccated Aral Sea, according to an official government publication.
The project foresees the development of a green zone around the Turkmen shore of the Aral Sea, once among the largest lakes in the world before Soviet environmental planning caused the sea to shrink at a shocking rate.
The Turkmen plan also calls for the planting of trees and shrubs in an area nearly 50,000 acres large, the Turkmenistan.ru government portal reported Thursday.
The plan is said to be the creative project of authoritarian Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov. The president first presented the idea at the Rio de Janeiro UN conference on sustainable development held at the end of June this year.
The Turkmen leader anticipates spending tens of millions of dollars on the project.
Turkmenistan sits on the fourth largest reserves of gas in the world, but has little industry outside the hydrocarbons sector.