Kazakhstan ranks among world’s top three for degraded land large-scale restoration
Kazakhstan ranks third globally in lands under restoration or rehabilitation. According to the UN Restoration Progress Report: Nature’s Comeback, some 8.13 million hectares, representing some 3% of Kazakhstan’s territory, are under active restoration, Qazinform News Agency reports.
The Restoration Progress Report: Nature’s Comeback is prepared by the UN FAO, UNEP, and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
According to the report, China takes the lead in global terrestrial restoration with 127.4 million hectares, followed by Mongolia with 2.18 million hectares and Kazakhstan with 8.13 million hectares.
Alongside rehabilitation projects, the Kazakh Agriculture Ministry strengthens its work on preserving and rationally using land resources. Particular attention is paid to the evaluation of soil, detection of degraded land sections, and introduction of digital monitoring instruments.
Land degradation e-maps covered 114 million hectares in 2025-2026. Surveys revealed 2.7 million hectares of degraded agricultural lands. These data help assess the land conditions, define priority areas, and plan targeted measures to prevent degradation and preserve soil fertility.
A major milestone in strengthening state policy in this area was the adoption of the Law of Kazakhstan “On Soil Protection” on 8 July 2026. The law establishes legal mechanisms for soil assessment, protection, and restoration, creating a solid legislative framework for the systematic protection of the country’s land resources.
The ministry is currently working with local executive authorities to develop regional action plans on soil protection. These plans include a range of measures aimed at preventing land degradation, restoring agricultural land, and maintaining its productivity.
Thus, Kazakhstan continues to strengthen its land resource management system by combining international ecosystem restoration approaches with modern digital monitoring tools, improved legislation, and regional planning.
Earlier, Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Yerlan Nyssanbayev told the Regional Ecological Summit in Astana that a systemic threat of soil degradation and desertification persists in several regions of Kazakhstan.
To note, Central Asian countries may launch a new climate initiative next year, aimed at preserving soil fertility amid accelerating climate change.
