Every year there is a growing need to improve and develop the system of protected natural areas that ensures the conservation of the most valuable natural sites and the maintenance of the required level of biological diversity in the region. Each new national park complements the existing network of protected natural areas, allowing in the future to form a unified system of protected natural areas representing the entire diversity of Uzbekistan's nature. This will help preserve the unique biodiversity of the region, in particular those under threat of extinction.
The Aralkum National Natural Park was established by a presidential decree in 2022 as a tourist site with the aim of developing ecotourism. The park is located in the Muynak district of the Republic of Karakalpakstan. The distance between the natural park and the center of the Muynak district is 60 km.
The Aralkum Park is surrounded by wastelands in the northwest, the Muynak State Forestry in the southwest, the Kazakdarya Forestry in the southeast and the Republic of Kazakhstan in the north. The total area of the natural park is 1,000,000 hectares, of which 585,000 hectares are a protected area, 125,000 hectares are a recreational area, and 290,000 hectares are for economic purposes (the exact boundaries and zoning are still being discussed).
On the 125,000 hectares of the recreational area of the natural park, artesian water flowing from a depth of 700 m on the dry bottom of the Aral Sea may be of interest to local residents and foreign guests as an ecotourism attraction. Guest houses are located at a distance of 80 km. The closest settlement to the natural park, located at a distance of 40 km, is the village of "Uchsay".
The Aralkum National Park is located at an altitude of 25 to 50 m above sea level, its highest point - the Peak Vozrozhdeniya is located in the center of the park. In the past, it was an island that housed a Soviet military complex used to test biological weapons. Due to the falling water level, it is no longer an island, and the Soviet infrastructure is no longer there.
The appeal of the Aralkum Park lies in the diversity of its landscape. The park's ecosystem includes gypsum semi-desert with elements of sandy and rocky deserts, cliffs, fragments of tugai vegetation and reed thickets. More than 36 species of higher vascular plants have been identified here, including saxaul, juzgun, reeds, tamarisk.
The fauna of the Aralkum Nature Park is diverse. Its territory is home to saigas, wolves, jackals, foxes, hares, wild boars.
Birds include owls, crows, desert sparrows and desert larks.
Reptiles include snakes, turtles and lizards.
Of particular interest to wildlife enthusiasts are endangered animals, including the corsac fox, the Central Asian tortoise, the spotted snake, the Brandt's hedgehog, the flamingo, the golden eagle, the caracal, and the saiga.
The establishment of the Aralkum National Park is particularly important because it overlaps with the gas exploration zone in Karakalpakstan.
Research and regulatory work is ongoing here to understand which parts of the Aralkum Desert are suitable for industrial intervention, which areas can be used for tourism, and where humans should not set foot at all. Monitoring and enforcement will remain strategic in this fragile desert ecosystem.
