Search
Alexander Esipov, Saiga Conservation
Alliance, esipov@xnet.uz
Alyona Krivosheyeva, Association for the Conservation of
Biodiversity of Kazakhstan
Among the priority tasks of the Altyn Dala Conservation
Initiative (ADCI) implemented by ACBK and partners is the efficient
management of protected areas in the ADCI network so they can
achieve their goals. Five year Protected Area Management Plans are
an essential tool for effective management.
Alexander Putilin. Association for the Conservation of
Biodiversity of Kazakhstan, aleksandr.putilin@acbk.kz
In the autumn of 2011 Kazakhstan began building a fence about
1.7 m high, consisting of 8 rows of barbed wire, along the
country's border with Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. The construction
work was finished by the end of 2012. For about 150 km this border
fence runs across the habitat of the Ustyurt saiga population - a
population causing the deepest concern due to its continuous
decline. The saiga of the Ustyurt Plateau spend most of their time
in Kazakhstan; however, in winter they migrate to Uzbekistan,
crossing the border between the two countries.
Aigul Aitbaeva, Eugenia Samtamova,Yashkul' State Diversified
Gymnasium, aigul-0889@mail.ru
Saiga Day is an international event which has been
celebrated in Kazakhstan, Russia and Uzbekistan since 2011. In 2016
young conservationists from Mongolia joined Saiga Day. The holiday
occurs within the calving period and is celebrated in saiga range
areas. The main goal is to shape children's ecological culture and
concepts, to draw adults' attention towards wildlife conservation
issues and to increase knowledge of steppe ecosystems, their
fragility and the necessity for everyone to take part in
conservation.
Russia
Eugenia Samtanova and
Aigul' Aytabayeva, Yashkul State Diversified Gymnasium, aigul-0889@mail.ru
Alyona Krivosheyeva, Association for the Conservation of
Biodiversity of Kazakhstan, alyona.krivosheyeva@acbk.kz
Steppe ecology clubs have been springing up actively within
schools in different regions of Kazakhstan over the last few years,
with the goal of providing ecological education to local children,
with a focus on saiga conservation. The Ustyurt saiga population is
currently the smallest and most threatened, which is why it is
important to make local people aware of the problem of poaching and
to show them the necessity of protecting saiga. Therefore, we
decided to organise a field summer camp for children living in
villages on the Ustyurt Plateau.
Natalia Shivaldova, Ekomaktab NGO, nshivaldova@mail.ru
In the last few weeks of the summer holidays children from
steppe clubs across Karakalpakstan had the chance to share ideas
and get motivation for the next academic year at the Saiga kids
camp in a picturesque valley not far from the Chatkal Nature
Reserve. The sweet-smelling mountain herbs, the fresh mountain air
and the crystal clear mountain streams, as well as the great
diversity of animals and plants and the wonderful mountain lake
made the children fall yet deeper in love with nature and discover
many new things.
The Deputy Chairman of the Kazakhstan Ministry of Agriculture's Committee for Forest Management and Wildlife, Nariman Zhunusov, says that there has been some progress in detecting and capturing those breaking environmental laws:
"In 2014, 79 criminal cases were initiated for saiga poaching; in 2015, there were 107 cases and the number of confiscated horns exceeded 3000. 20 criminal cases have been initiated and about 600 saiga horns confiscated since the beginning of 2016. Saiga horns are also known as ling yang (羚羊) and used in Traditional Chinese Medicine.