As is well known, the rate at which average temperatures are rising in Central Asia is outpacing global averages, directly disrupting the region’s historical hydrological balance. The rapid degradation of the glaciers of the Pamirs and Tien Shan, heat waves, droughts, and accelerating desertification have long underscored the urgent need for solutions. Under these conditions, nature is no longer simply a habitat. There is a growing need for tools capable of stabilizing ecosystems, with forests playing a central role.
In the region’s arid and sharply continental climate, forests are no longer simply a “source of timber.” They are complex systems that serve as a comprehensive shield, working in two strategic directions: mitigation—addressing the causes of climate change—and adaptation—responding to impacts that are already occurring. For Central Asia, this dual role makes forest ecosystems an indispensable tool.
Mitigation aims to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. In this context, forests sequester carbon.
This involves a dual form of carbon sequestration: carbon is stored not only in above-ground biomass, such as trunks and branches, but also—and critically important for arid areas—in the soil. The root systems of desert and mountain forests create stable underground carbon reservoirs that are less vulnerable to rapid emissions from seasonal fires.
In addition, by altering the albedo, or reflectivity, of the underlying surface and enabling evapotranspiration—the release of moisture through plant leaves—forests actively absorb solar radiation and help reduce local temperature anomalies.
While mitigation contributes to the global climate balance over the long term, adaptation addresses the immediate need to protect infrastructure and populations within the region. In Central Asia, where temperatures are rising faster than the global average, the adaptive capacity of forests is becoming increasingly important.
Forests help moderate environmental extremes. They reduce risks by directing surface runoff from intense rainfall into the soil, thereby limiting the formation of catastrophic mudflows and floods. Another important benefit is enhanced food security. Agroforestry measures, including the establishment of windbreaks, physically protect agricultural land from wind erosion and drying, increasing crop yields by 15–25%.
The most large-scale and complex example of using forests as a comprehensive shield is the creation of a new ecosystem on the exposed seabed of the Aral Sea, in the newly formed Aralkum Desert.
The approximately 5.5 million hectares of the dried-up Aral Sea bed have become a global source of salt and dust aerosols. Winds lift millions of tons of toxic dust, which settles not only on farmland but also on the glaciers of the Tien Shan and Pamirs, critically accelerating their melting by altering albedo, as dark dust absorbs more heat.
Rows of saxaul absorb wind energy and reduce wind speeds. By slowing air movement close to the ground, they prevent toxic salt and sand particles from being lifted into the troposphere. A mature saxaul plant can mechanically bind and retain up to 10 tons of mobile sand.
By blocking the transport of salt, the new forest on the Aral Sea acts as a remote shield for mountain glaciers across the region. By preventing dust from settling on the ice, this forest literally helps preserve freshwater reserves for future generations in Central Asian countries.
Forest planting on the Aral Sea bed also initiates the process of soil formation. By retaining organic matter and moisture, these plantations create the foundation for the return of insects, reptiles, and mammals, building a resilient biogeocenosis from the ground up on territory that was historically devoid of life.
The combination of mitigation and adaptation through the creation of large-scale forest areas, such as the Aral Sea restoration effort, demonstrates a shift from passively documenting environmental damage toward nature-based management of climate risks at the regional level.
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