> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://theparnassian.com/en/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# I Should Like to Express My Profound Gratitude to the Government of Kazakhstan: the North Aral Sea Is Being Reborn, and Its Volume Has Grown by an Impressive 42%!
- URL: https://theparnassian.com/en/khotelos-by-vyrazit-pravitelstvu-kazakhstana-ogromnuiu-priznatelnost-za-to-chto-severnoe-aralskoe-more-perezhivaet-vozrozhdenie-ego-obem-uvelichilsia-na-vpechatliaiushchie-42/
- Published: 2026-02-07T06:01:30.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-01T05:27:04.000Z
- Author: Alexandr Radayev
- Tags: Geography, Observations, Society, Nature

Not so long ago the Aral was the scene of one of the most destructive ecological catastrophes on the planet, but today its partial remnant, the Small Aral Sea, the part of the basin that lies within Kazakhstan, is becoming a symbol of hope that not all of humanity's errors in its dealings with this world are irreversible.

Thanks to the construction of the Kok-Aral Dam and more efficient regulation of the flow of the Syr Darya, the northern basin now holds 27 billion cubic metres of water. This vital barrier has successfully cut off the healthier northern section from the badly depleted southern Aral, allowing the Small Aral to regain its waters and come closer to the state in which it was once called flourishing.

The changes go far beyond a rise in the water level. Salinity has fallen by almost 75%, creating conditions for the return, in great numbers, of native species of fish long considered vanished for ever. The annual fish catch has grown to roughly 8,000 tonnes, giving fresh economic life to local communities that lost their main source of income when the sea retreated.

It is not only a matter of hydraulic and engineering solutions, chiefly the return of the water, but also of such things as the greening of the desolate coastal districts and the revival of ecosystems. For many years I read that the Aral Sea was gradually being restored, but the tiny blue patches on Google Earth suggested that all was not so splendid. Now one can truly say that political will and systematic effort can reverse even the gravest ecological damage and restore life to landscapes that seemed lost for ever.