The SATREPS program, combining science and technology with diplomacy, supports international scientific cooperation to solve global problems within the framework of the concept of "science and technology diplomacy."
Within the framework of SATREPS, researchers from Japan and developing countries are striving to jointly address pressing issues in four priority areas: the environment and energy, bioresources, disaster prevention and mitigation, and the fight against infectious diseases.
Currently, a project is being implemented on the Aral Sea within the framework of the grant program of the Japanese Government's Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS-2020), which was recognized as the best among 10 international projects selected by the Japan Agency for Science and Technology (JST).
Why is the project specifically related to the Aral Sea being implemented within the framework of SATREPS-2020, and what issues does it cover?
As is known, the consequences of the Aral Sea crisis are affecting the lives and activities of millions of people living in the Aral Sea region. As is known, over the past 55 years, a new desert called the Aralkum has formed on 5.2 million hectares of the dried bottom of the Aral Sea.
As in any other deserts of the world, the Aralkum Desert lacks the infrastructure and social conditions necessary for the well-being of people, socio-economic development, biodiversity, and ecosystem support. Therefore, on May 18, 2021, at the plenary session of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly, at the suggestion of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, a special resolution was unanimously adopted declaring the Aral Sea region a zone of environmental innovations and technologies.
Based on this resolution, strategic directions and priority projects have been identified for transforming the Aral Sea region from an area of ecological and human crisis into a region of sustainable socio-economic development based on the principles of environmental innovations and technologies, as well as a green economy and a multi-use economy. This was in line with the priority goals of SATREPS - 2020. In this regard, the Agency for Innovative Development in the Aral Sea, together with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), is implementing the project "Development of new technologies for monitoring and controlling the use of water resources to combat soil salinization, increase soil fertility and food security in the Aral Sea region" for 2022-2027. The project was financed by a $5.0 million grant from the Japanese government.
The main goal of the project is to create a modern center for monitoring climate change, conducting meteorological monitoring, as well as introducing new Japanese technologies in agriculture in saline conditions in order to increase land fertility and improve the well-being of the local population with limited access to water in the Aral Sea region.
