The document frames biodiversity as a national strategic asset and aligns Kazakhstan with global commitments, including the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. The Concept identifies major threats to biodiversity—ecosystem degradation, climate change, wildfires, industrial expansion, invasive species, and insufficient financing—while emphasizing the need for integrated, data driven environmental governance. It also highlights gaps such as uneven protected area coverage, fragmented institutional coordination, and inadequate monitoring systems. A detailed assessment of the national ecosystems follows: protected areas cover 11.36% of the country but lack representation of key biomes such as river valleys, desert ecosystems, and lakes. Forest resources face challenges including wildfires, pests, illegal logging, and low funding. For wildlife, the country hosts over 80,000 invertebrate species and nearly 900 vertebrate species, including globally important populations of saiga, kulan, snow leopard, and Caspian seal. However, habitat fragmentation, poorly regulated infrastructure development, and weak integration of biodiversity into environmental impact assessments continue to jeopardize fauna. The fisheries sector struggles with climate driven water scarcity, invasive species, and illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, while plant biodiversity faces threats from overharvesting, insufficient botanical research, and invasive flora. To address these challenges, the Concept sets long term targets: expanding protected areas to 12.5% of national territory, enhancing ecological tourism, implementing sustainable forest management, restoring fish populations through modern hatcheries and genetic banks, and strengthening both in situ and ex situ plant conservation. It calls for digital monitoring systems, improved environmental legislation, biodiversity centered spatial planning, and stronger public engagement framed through a culturally resonant approach (e.g., “Zher Ana”). Finally, it promotes Biodiversity Net Gain principles, ESG driven business responsibility, development of carbon offset markets (including grassland carbon projects), and comprehensive restoration of degraded pastures, aiming for measurable improvements in ecosystem health by 2035.
Kazajstán · 2025-12-31