Kazakhstan eyes expanding protected area coverage
Kazakhstan seeks to expand the coverage of its protected areas to 12.5% of the country’s total territory, Daniyar Turgambayev, chairman of the forestry and wildlife committee, said during a press conference on Thursday, Kazinform News Agency correspondent reports.
Currently, the country is developing a draft biodiversity conservation concept to comply with the Convention on Biological Diversity, targeting expanding protected area coverage to 12.5%, which presently stands at 11.3%.
Kazakhstan eyes creation of six protected areas, including Aral and Zhaiyk forest reserves, nature reserve in the floodplain of the Irtysh River, Tunkinskiy National Park, Merkenskiy Regional Park, Kyzylkum reserve as well as expansion of Ustyurt, Karatau, Akzhaiyk and Ili-Balkhash nature reserves, said Turgambayev.
According to him, 2.8 million tourists visited the country’s protected areas in 2024, 400,000 more than in 2023.