Kazakhstan's World Bank-financed Kok-Aral Dam raised the Northern Aral Sea's water volume 42% to ~27 billion m3 by 2025, revived a fishery to 8,000 tonnes/year with 20 fish species reappearing, and a further phase is planned for 2026–2029.
$86 million ($64.5M World Bank-financed)
Dam cost
>12 metres
Water level rise from 2003 low (by 2025)
+42% to ~27 billion m3
Water volume growth (by 2025)
~8,000 tonnes
Annual fish catch recovery
20
Fish species reappeared
Details
Maturity
Scaling
Promoter
Government of Kazakhstan (Kyzylorda Region) / World Bank
Period
2001–2005 (construction); effects monitored to 2025
Keywords
water resources, fisheries, ecosystem restoration, climate adaptation
Context
The Northern (Small) Aral Sea had desiccated after Soviet-era irrigation diversions cut off most Syr Darya river inflow.
Activities
The Kok-Aral Dam, a 13 km dike, was completed in 2005 at a cost of about $86 million ($64.5 million financed by the World Bank), trapping Syr Darya inflow to raise and stabilise the Northern Aral's water level.
Results
By 2025 the dam had raised the Northern Aral's water level more than 12 metres from its 2003 low, with total volume up 42% to approximately 27 billion cubic metres; annual fish catch recovered to roughly 8,000 tonnes with 20 previously vanished fish species reappearing.
Conclusions
Kazakhstan has announced a further phase (2026-2029) to raise the dam further, targeting 34 billion cubic metres; no forest-carbon or fire-resilience metrics apply to this water-body restoration project.
Implementation
Indicative cost
High (€500k–€5M)
Time to results
Long (> 3 years)
Staffing & skills
Government of Kazakhstan (Kyzylorda Region), World Bank (Syr Darya Control and Northern Aral Sea Phase 1 Project)
Conditions for success
sustained Syr Darya river inflow management
planned follow-on phase to raise capacity further
Commonly funded by
National / regional programmes
Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.
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Data sources
Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.
Since 2019, Japan distributes ¥40–62 billion/year to municipalities and prefectures for managing private plantation forests; from April 2024 funded by …
