LocationsThe achievements of Kazakhstan in the conservation of the snow leopard
October 23, 2024
About the snow leopard
The snow leopard is one of the most secretive and rare predators on the planet. It lives between 3,000 and 5,500 m above sea level in in mountain ecosystems. The global land area of the snow leopardcovers 12 countries in the East, Central and SouthAsia. The predator is included in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, as well as in the Red Lists of all countries of snow leopard’s habitat, because of its uniqueness and vulnerability.
What threatens the snow leopard?
As the world's population grows the demand for space and natural resources continues to grow, which increases the negative impact on wildlife.
Billions of hectares of land, inhabited by rare species of wildlife, including the snow leopard, are affected by human impact. The rapid growth of cities, unstable tourism, the expansion of agricultural activities, poaching, including the destruction of the snow leopard's food supply are posing a serious threat to the predator and its habitat. Another factor that negatively affects the existence of the snow leopard is climate change. The climate significantly affects the animal's habitat – mountain ecosystems, which in turn affects access to mining and water resources in high-mountainous areas.
The snow leopard is at the top of the food chain and is an indicator of the well-being of the ecosystems in which it lives. A decrease in its population characterizes a decrease in the level of ecosystem health, which has a negative impact on local communities that live in mountainous areas.
The snow leopard in Kazakhstan
The snow leopard is a living symbol of Kazakhstan and has important social and cultural significance.
In the country, the snow leopard lives mainly in mountain ecosystems: in the south - Western Tien Shan, Kyrgyz Alatau, in the south-east - Zhongar Alatau, Northern Tien Shan, in the east – Altai and Saur-Tarbagatai. All mountain systems are cross-border and continue in the territories of neighboring countries: China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Uzbekistan.
It is worth noting that the Kazakhstan’s snow leopard population is of great interest to the international scientific community, because the country is a cross-border region of predator migration. As is known, the mountain ecosystems of Central Asia, in which the snow leopard lives, are of high importance on a national and international scale, as they determine climatic conditions. That is why the study of the snow leopard plays an important role, not only for its further conservation, but also for determining potential threats and the state of ecosystems on which the well-being of the local communities in mountain’s areas of Central Asian countries depends.
The active human activity that began in the middle of the 20th century, which is associated with unstable agriculture and, as a result, the degradation of huge area of land and the reduction of the snow leopard's food supply, has led to the fact that the number of predators in Kazakhstan has sharply decreased. Due to human impact, the snow leopard disappeared in the Karatau – one of the peripheral ridges of the Western Tien Shan, as well as in the mountain ranges of the Ulken Buguttu and the Kishi Buguttu, the Sogety, the Toraigyr, the Aktau, the Katutau - the spurs of the Zaliysky and the Zhongar Alatau. By 1995, there were only 80-100 snow leopards in the country.
Aware of the threat of extinction of the snow leopard, as a species valuable to the world's biodiversity, nowadays efforts are being made in Kazakhstan to protect and preserve its population. The country has developed "The Strategy for the Conservation of the Snow Leopard" (2011) and "The National Action Plans for the Conservation of the Snow Leopard" (2015-20204). The increase in the number of animals is influenced by measures to improve the activities of the network of specially protected natural areas (PAs). The protection of the snow leopard in the country is provided by eight protected areas in four regions: Almaty, East Kazakhstan, Turkestan and Zhetysu.
The UN Development Programme for protection of the snow leopard
In Kazakhstan there has been a significant growth of snow leopard population in the past decade. This was significantly influenced by factors such as the ecosystem restoration and the strengthening of measures for the protection of wildlife, which were made possible by improving the quality of PAs, improving material and technical base and introduction new technologies that allow for high-quality accounting and monitoring of ecosystems and biodiversity. Significant progress has also been made in the study of the snow leopard and its habitat.
One of the key initiatives was the project of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Kazakhstan and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) on the conservation of forest ecosystems and biodiversity. The project was implemented from 2018 to 2024 in partnership with the Government of Kazakhstan and included a set of initiatives to study the snow leopard and preserve its habitat and food base. Over the years, the project has achieved significant results in the study of the snow leopard, which laid the foundation for further actions to restore its numbers in the country.
From 2019 to 2024, UNDP actively collaborated with the Institute of Zoology of the Republic of Kazakhstan to determine the potential boundaries of snow leopard habitats in Kazakhstan. The research work was carried out in four regions: Almaty, Zhetysu, East Kazakhstan and Turkestan. These are the ranges of the Kyrgyz, Zailiysky, Kungei and Zhongar Alatau, Ketmen, Saur-Tarbagatai.
As part of this cooperation, an Annual Reporting system on the number of snow leopards in Kazakhstan was developed in 2019. It is worth noting that with the joint efforts, the number of snow leopards in the country has doubled since the early 1990s and in 2024 amounts to 152-189 snow leopards.
To date, 70 percent of the total number of snow leopards lives on the territory of PAs – 104-135 snow leopards. Taking into account the fact that the protection of a significant part of mountain ecosystems – the habitat of the snow leopard - is provided by protected areas, UNDP has focused its efforts on strengthening their technical potential. 294 camera traps were installed in pilot 14 protected areas and eight forestry enterprises, 28 thermal imagers were transferred, which allow for high-quality monitoring and obtaining up-to-date data on wildlife, regardless of weather and climatic conditions.
Achievements of the snow leopard conservation
Strengthening environmental protection measures and improvment of quality of research resulted in the snow leopard was first discovered in new territories.
In 2019, camera traps recorded a predator in the Zhambyl region on the territory of the Merke Forestry. In 2021 scientists discovered a breeding group of snow leopards in the Altyn Emel National Park. The presence of an active group of snow leopards in the national park indicates that this area is a natural breeding ground for the predator.
Previously, before the foundation of the Altyn Emel National Park, snow leopards were completely exterminated at these areas. The creation of a protected area, restoration of ecosystems, and an increase in the number of food supply allowed the predator to return to its former habitat. Nowadays, the number of snow leopards in the Altyn-Emel National Park continues to grow actively and is one of the key ones in Kazakhstan. Previously, this area was not considered as a potential habitat for the snow leopard.
The study of the snow leopard has continued. In November 2021, satellite telemetry of a snow leopard was conducted in Kazakhstan for the first time. Satellite telemetry is a safe and effective method that is widely used in many countries and allows scientists to obtain the most reliable data on the location, potential threats, and food supply of animals.
The first individual of the snow leopard was tagged with navigation equipment in the Altyn Emel National Park with the participation of international and national experts. In total, from 2021 to 2023, satellite telemetry was carried out to 11 snow leopards in the mountains of the Northern and Central Tien Shan. The data obtained allowed scientists to identify the migration routes of snow leopards, both in Kazakhstan and across the border to neighboring countries.
Currently, there is a reliable migration route of snow leopards to China and Kyrgyzstan, recorded on migration maps. Information on predator migration routes is of big practical importance for improving management of PAs and further measures to protect the species.
UNDP has worked to create new protected areas and expand the area of existing ones to preserve globally significant species of flora and fauna, including the snow leopard.
The fact of habitat of the snow leopard in Zhambyl region were the justification for the foundation of the Merke regional nature park in the coming years, which will provide the protection of rare species. In general, UNDP has completed natural science and feasibility studies on the creation of six new PAs with a total area of more than 1.6 million ha and the expansion of the area of three existing ones by more than 214,000 ha.
In February 2024, within the framework of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS COP14), the UNDP-GEF project participated in the international conference on the conservation of the snow leopard, organized by the he Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Program (GSLEP) in Samarkand. During the event, the Kazakhstan delegation presented a report on the work done on the study and sustainable conservation of the snow leopard.
In 2024, at the initiative of the UNDP, the memorandum between the protected areas of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan was signed on the conservation of the snow leopard. The memorandum will allow coordinating joint actions for the study, conservation of the species and its habitats in the mountains of the Northern Tien Shan within the territories of four PAs: the Kolsai Koldery State National Park, the Almaty State Nature Reserve, the Ile-Alatau State National Park of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Chon Kemin State Natural Park of the Kyrgyz Republic. This five-year agreement will continue the work of UNDP to study the snow leopard and restore its population in the two countries.
The preservation of the snow leopard as an indicator of the "health status" of mountain ecosystems is an important task not only for scientists, but also for the whole society. The results of joint efforts to preserve the snow leopard in Kazakhstan have formed a solid foundation for the protection of valuable species of the biodiversity, that helps maintain a balance between people and nature.
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