A slow catastrophe.
A patient response.
Aralforest is a conservation NGO restoring Aralkum — the youngest desert on the planet, born on the floor of its saddest lake.
How a dying sea became the youngest desert
Once the fourth-largest lake on the planet, the Aral shrank to a tenth of its former area over six decades — after the two rivers feeding it were diverted to irrigate cotton fields across Central Asia.
A new desert formed on the exposed seabed — Aralkum. About 75 million tonnes of toxic dust rise from these salt flats every year, blown across the region and as far as the Arctic.
Aralforest started with a single tree in 2018. Today it is tens of thousands of saplings — saxaul, elm, tamarisk and Crimean pine — planted straight into the Aralkum.
Stitch the soil. Bring back the air.
We pick species that can live in salty, shifting soil: the deep roots of saxaul, the flexible branches of tamarisk. These plants don’t just survive — they bind the sands, calm the dust and bring back shade and life.
Every tree is geotagged, photographed and assigned to its donor. After three to five years the plot becomes part of a stable green corridor that changes the regional climate.
What every tree gives back
One saxaul tree holds back up to four tonnes of sand a year and cuts local wind speed by about a third. Ten rows along a village is already a barrier against a dust storm.
After five years the planting starts feeding birds, pollinators and small animals. Shade returns — and with it the cool, and the rare desert moisture. Life begins again.
Plant a tree with us.
Every tree is your name in the Aralkum. We geotag the spot and send the certificate plus a photo when the sapling takes root.