Geography of Uzbekistan in power but also to the very survival of Uzbekistan, the increasingly grave environmental threat will not be addressed effectively. The Government of Uzbekistan joined forces with Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan in 1992 to form the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS) and in 1993 to form the Interstate Council on the Problems of the Aral Sea Basin (ICAS). The ICAS was formed to work with the World Bank in order to improve the conditions of the Aral Sea, but was disbanded in 1997 to form IFAS. The Uzbekistan government along with NGOs and U.S. international donors
Kazakhstan of the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan lost some of its territory to China's Xinjiang autonomous region and some to Uzbekistan's Karakalpakstan autonomous republic. It shares borders of with Russia, with Uzbekistan, with China, with Kyrgyzstan, and with Turkmenistan. Major cities include Astana, Almaty, Karagandy, Shymkent, Atyrau, and Oskemen. It lies between latitudes 40° and 56° N, and longitudes 46° and 88° E. While located primarily in Asia, a small portion of Kazakhstan is also located west of the Urals in Eastern Europe. Kazakhstan's terrain extends west to east from the Caspian Sea to the Altay Mountains and north to south from