Kazakhstan and the Netherlands join forces to restore the Turanian tiger

With the support of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) a visit of the Chairman of the Committee of Forestry and Wildlife of the Ministry of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan Daniyar Turgambayev to the Netherlands was organized.

During the visit, meetings were held with representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature of the Netherlands, where the issues of mutual cooperation, restoration of wildlife populations, forestry and production of carbon credits were discussed.

In addition, a meeting was held with representatives of the DGB company, which plans to produce carbon credits in Kazakhstan by planting saxauls on 10 thousand hectares in the Aral region. The parties discussed necessary steps for the project realization and exchanged views on mutually beneficial cooperation.

During the visit, a Memorandum was signed between the Committee of Forestry and Wildlife of the Republic of Kazakhstan and one of the Dutch centers for keeping wild animals on free transfer of tigers to Kazakhstan for further breeding and release of their offspring.

At the Memorandum signing ceremony, the Ambassador of Kazakhstan to the Netherlands Askar Zhumagaliyev emphasized the importance of restoration of rare and endangered species of animals and plants in their natural habitats, expressing gratitude to the Dutch side and WWF for the support of Kazakhstan in this difficult task.

It is worth noting that in 2017, at the EXPO-2017 exhibition in Astana in the pavilion of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the signing ceremony of the agreement on the start of the tiger reintroduction project between WWF and the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan was held. It was emphasized that for the successful reintroduction of tigers, it is necessary to create a suitable ecosystem by ensuring the recovery of populations of ungulates such as Bukhara deer, wild boar and roe deer, which are the main food of tigers.

Work has begun in 2019 to restore ungulate populations and forests in the Ile-Balkhash reserve. With the support of WWF and UNDP, Bukhara deer, kulans, and the number of wild boars and gazelles were returned to the nature of Pribalkhash. The Ile-Balkhash reserve is provided with the necessary material and technical base and protection of the territory, and reforestation and water-saving projects are being implemented.

Under the Tiger Reintroduction Program in Kazakhstan, the release of these animals is planned for the period 2025-2030.