The international community has recognized the environmental crisis in the Aral Sea Basin as one of the most severe ecological disasters of the past century, with far-reaching socio-economic consequences for a subregional population exceeding 50 million people.
In an effort to address the environmental crisis and improve the socio-economic conditions in the Aral Sea Basin, the Heads of State of the Central Asian countries adopted the first Aral Sea Basin Programme (ASBP-1) in 1994. The primary objective of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS) was to mobilize resources from the five Central Asian States and the international donor community to finance the implementation of the ASBP.
Since the establishment of IFAS, three Aral Sea Basin Programmes have been implemented to address the challenges facing the Aral Sea:
The current programme, ASBP-4 (2021–2030), aims to build upon the progress achieved under the previous phases of the Aral Sea Basin Programmes.