Kazakhstan - Overview

Remark:

Please note that this country profile has been prepared by the Secretariat on the basis of information provided in the NBSAP and national reports, but has not been reviewed by the Party concerned.

Status and Trends of Biodiversity

Overview

Kazakhstan, with its vast territory almost the size of Western Europe, is endowed with an enormous diversity of mountain ecological systems due to the high altitude zones. It has a great diversity of natural conditions, ecosystems and species. Four major ecological systems can be defined: forest (2% of country), steppe (28%), desert (32%), and mountain (7%)... More »

Number and Extent of Protected Areas

Protected areas currently cover 14.8 million ha, or 5.44% of land surface in Kazakhstan. They consist of 9 natural reserves, 4 national parks, 60 reserve plots, 24 nature memorials of the republican jurisdiction, 3 zoological parks, 5 botanical gardens, several dendrological parks, 3 water lands recognized to be of international importance in accordance with the Ramsar Convention, and 150 water cavities that have state significance... More »

National Biodiversity Strategy Action Plan

Major features of National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan

Recognizing Kazakhstan’s special place in the global context to conserve biodiversity, the republic developed an NBSAP in 1998, and decided to incorporate its targets in the national Development Strategy for the Republic of Kazakhstan up to the year 2030. The main objective of the national strategy is to conserve biological diversity and to achieve economic gains through the balanced use of its components... More »

Implementation of the Convention

Measures Taken to Achieve the 2010 Target

Besides the planned increase in protected areas, 2010 targets have been incorporated in national plans. The Programme for Conservation and Restoration of Rare and Threatened Species of Wild Hoofed Animals and Saigas for 2005-2007 is a good example. Priority plans and actions target rare and threatened species. These include population monitoring, legislative decrees, programme of action for protected areas creation and transboundary species monitoring... More »

Initiatives in Protected Areas

Establishing natural reserves is a long-standing tradition in Kazakhstan, the republic having the oldest natural territory in the region: Aksu-Dzhabagly, created in 1926. It Is worthy to note that of all the different types of protected areas, only the reserves offer strict and full biodiversity protection, making them suitable for long term and multi-profile studies... More »

Initiatives for Article 8(j)

Despite the rich ethnic heritage of Kazakhstan, there are no legal guidelines for recognizing and determining traditional local communities. Their knowledge and practices were mostly lost already during the Soviet time and have not been restored after gaining independence. However, one of the objectives of the NBSAP is: ‘The identification of traditional dependence of local population on conservation and rational use of biological diversity including agrobiodiversity, for the purpose of satisfying the population needs in food, health, fuel-construction, raw material, business, technical, recreation, and other resources’... More »

National Contacts

Full details of national contacts »

Convention on Biological Diversity

Mr. Bektas Mukhamedzhanov	CBD Primary NFP
Mr. Kairat Ustemirov	CBD Primary NFP

Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety

Ministry of Agriculture	Cartagena Protocol Primary NFP
Mr. Erzhan Omirhanovich Syrgaliev	BCH NFP