Government Contributes $1 Million Over 2 Years for Residents of Aral Sea Region Facing 'Climate Change Disaster'

Agreement Signed to Contribute to UNDP Multilateral Trust Fund... Contribution Agreement Signed via Video Signing Ceremony

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The government has decided to contribute $1 million to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Multilateral Trust Fund to enhance human security for residents of the Aral Sea region, who are facing environmental challenges such as desertification and drinking water shortages caused by climate change.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 17th, Jeong Ki-yong, Director General of the Climate Environment Science Diplomacy Bureau, signed the contribution agreement through a virtual signing ceremony with Jennifer Topping, Head of the UNDP Multilateral Trust Fund Office, on the same day.

The Aral Sea, once the world's fourth-largest inland sea located between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, has seen its water volume decrease by 90% due to climate change, large-scale reclamation projects, and indiscriminate use of agricultural water, turning it into a place where no living organisms can survive.

The Uzbek government, considering that the Aral Sea is recognized as a representative case of ecosystem destruction and environmental disaster caused by climate change and reckless reclamation projects, established the "UN Human Security Multilateral Trust Fund for the Aral Sea" to support the socio-economic development of the coastal areas of the Aral Sea.

In April 2019, through a joint declaration by the heads of state of Korea and Uzbekistan, the government expressed support for the Aral Sea Trust Fund initiative and agreed to seek mutual cooperation measures to mitigate the Aral Sea disaster.

Through this contribution agreement, the government plans to contribute $800,000 in 2020 and $200,000 in 2021 to the UNDP Multilateral Trust Fund.

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