Side Event

The Steppe and the Saiga: large-scale landscape scale steppe protection and species conservation – Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative

Organizer
The Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS), Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity of Kazakhstan (ACBK), The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF)

Date and Time
26 May 2008 13:15 - 14:45

Meeting
Ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 9)

Steppes are the least protected ecosystem worldwide and under great threat. Kazakhstan once held large part of these natural grasslands. The Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative (ADCI) is a large-scale programme of the Government of Kazakhstan in partnership with the Association for Conservation of Biodiversity in Kazakhstan (ACBK), the Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS), the Royal Society for Protection of Birds (RSPB) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to conserve nationally and internationally important and critically endangered flagship species like the Saiga Antelope (Saiga tatarica tatarica) and its habitats in steppe and semi desert zones of Kazakhstan through the establishment of a network of large protected areas in Central Kazakhstan. The event will include: 1) Opening by the Minister of Environment of the Republic of Kazakhstan 2) Presentation 3) Life Transmission from Project area 4) Press Conference 5) Information desk 6) Catering