ASTANA — Kazakhstan is seeking international support for a fund to protect rare species and conserve biodiversity, while proposing Almaty as the host city for a regional office of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity Secretariat, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said at a Leaders’ Summit ahead of the UN biodiversity conference COP17 in Yerevan on Oct.
He called for stronger international cooperation, emphasizing that biodiversity protection was a shared responsibility essential to human well-being, economic resilience and long-term security. “Environmental priorities, grounded in a balanced approach and concrete measures, must prevail over political disagreements,” Tokayev said, urging countries to focus on practical results and genuine partnerships.
Tokayev cited the recovery of the saiga antelope as one of Kazakhstan’s major conservation achievements. The country is now home to approximately 98% of the world’s saigas, whose numbers have risen from 21,000 in 2003 to 4.7 million as of spring this year. He also reported progress in protecting the snow leopard, whose population in Kazakhstan has grown from critically low levels in the 1990s to approximately 190 animals.
Around 70% of the species’ habitat in the country falls within protected areas. Tokayev thanked Russia, the United Nations Development Program, the World Wide Fund for Nature and other international partners for supporting efforts to reintroduce the Turan tiger to Kazakhstan.
In June, a tiger was released into the wild for the first time in the country in 70 years. Kazakhstan is also working with partners in the Czech Republic, Germany and Hungary to restore the population of Przewalski’s horse. Tokayev said these achievements reflected years of sustained efforts by government agencies, scientists and international partners.
Caspian seal population falls to 270,000 Despite progress in restoring some species, Tokayev warned that the Caspian Sea’s fragile ecosystem faces growing pressure, with the future of the Caspian seal a particular concern.