#1 Central Asia Snow leopard. All three big cats in the region – Persian leopard, Asiatic cheetah and snow leopard – are threatened by illegal hunting. Hunting of the cats' natural prey also causes starvation and increases the likelihood of attacks on domestic animals. 14 | | 15 Contents #1 3 _ Ongoing conservation efforts 54 List of figures 18 List of tables 18 3.1 Government 56 List of boxes 18 3.1.1 Institutions for conservation 56 List of abbreviations and acronyms 18 3.1.2 Protected areas 59 3.1.3 Transboundary initiatives 60 3.1.4 Wildlife law enforcement 62 3.1.5 National and local policies 63 0 _ Executive summary 20 3.1.6 International agreements 66 3.2 Community-based conservation 67 3.3 Civil society 67 1 _ Background 24 3.3.1 CSOs in Central Asia 67 3.3.2 CSO/NGO approaches and projects 68 1.1 Socio-economic setting 26 3.4 Private sector 72 1.1.1 Political and administrative context 26 3.5 International agencies and donors 73 1.1.2 Population and livelihoods 27 1.1.3 Economy 29 1.1.4 Resource ownership and governance 30 1.2 Key biodiversity features 31 4 _ Lessons learned 78 1.2.1 Geography and climate 31 4.1 Protected areas 80 1.2.2 Habitats and ecosystems 32 4.2 Landscape approaches to conservation 81 1.2.3 Species diversity, endemicity and extinction risk 35 4.3 Transboundary initiatives 82 1.2.4 Geographic priorities for conservation 36 4.4 Wildlife crime 82 4.5 Trophy and market hunting 84 4.6 Civil society organisations 85 2 _ Conservation challenges 40 4.7 Biodiversity conservation research 85 4.8 Private sector 85 2.1 Key direct threats 42 2.1.1 Illegal and unsustainable wildlife hunting and trade 42 2.1.2 Logging 46 2.1.3 Non-timber forest products 46 5 _ Strategic approaches 86 2.1.4 Livestock competition, disturbance and conflict 46 5.1 Priority geographies 88 2.1.5 Agricultural expansion and intensification 47 5.1.1 Identifying KLCs in Central Asia 89 2.1.6 Oil and gas production and mining 47 5.1.2 List of KLCs in Central Asia 89 2.1.7 Transport and infrastructure 48 5.2 Strategic approaches to addressing the main pressures on biodiversity and ecosystems 95 2.1.8 Dam building and water abstraction 48 5.2.1 Improve the management of protected areas and strengthen the network 95 2.1.9 Invasive species 49 5.2.2 Scale up landscape and species-based approaches to conservation outside protected areas 95 2.1.10 Disease 50 5.2.3 Intensify efforts against illegal poaching and wildlife trade 97 2.1.11 Climate change 51 5.2.4 Ensure that trophy and market hunting is sustainable 98 2.2 Drivers of threats 52 5.2.5 Strengthen the recognition and capacity of civil society to directly engage in and support 2.2.1 Poverty and population pressure on resources 52 conservation efforts 101 2.2.2 Dependence on extractive industries 52 5.2.6 Enhance knowledge, learning and access to information for biodiversity conservation 103 2.2.3 Weak governance 52 5.2.7 Strengthen the role of the corporate sector and promote a greener economy 103 2.2.4 Civil unrest, conflict and insurgency 53 5.3 Conclusion 105 2.2.5 Inadequate policies and laws 53 16 | | 17 List of figures Figure 1.1 Land cover map of the Central Asia region 31 EIA environmental impact assessment Figure 1.2 Priority regions for conservation and Global 200 Ecoregions in Central Asia 38 EU European Union Figure 5.1 Priority regions for conservation and Key Landscapes for Conservation in Central Asia 88 EUR euro Figure 5.2 Protected area coverage of KLCs in Central Asia 89 FAO Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN FFI Fauna & Flora International G200 Global 200 Ecoregions GEF Global Environment Facility GDP gross domestic product List of tables GHG greenhouse gas GIZ Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (German Technical Assistance Agency) Table 1.1 Remittances from expatriates for countries where this income is >5% of GDP 28 GNI gross national income Table 1.2 Numbers of terrestrial and freshwater threatened species by major taxonomic group and country 37 GSLEP Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection programme Table 1.3 Number of terrestrial and freshwater threatened species in the countries of the region, by threat category 37 GWh gigawatt hour Table 1.4 Key biodiversity areas in the Mountains of Central Asia hotspot 38 IBA important bird area Table 3.1 Summary of the division of responsibility for conservation tasks between government agencies 57 ICIMOD International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development Table 3.2 Protected area coverage per country in the Central Asia region 60 IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature Table 3.3 Number of sites designated under the international agreements operating at site level 65 JICA Japanese International Cooperation Agency Table 3.4 International agreements operating at species/groups level and national level 65 KBA key biodiversity area Table 3.5 Summary of main sources of aid to Central Asia 74 KLC key landscape for conservation Table 3.6 Net ODA receipts by the countries of the region, 2011-2015 74 MAB Man and the Biosphere Convention Table 3.7 Net ODA disbursements from DAC countries and EU institutions, 2015 76 MAIL Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, Afghanistan Table 5.1 List of KLCs in Central Asia 90 METT Management Effectiveness Tracking Tool Table 5.2 Protected area coverage of KLCs in Central Asia 93 MoU Memorandum of Understanding MSRI Mountain Societies Research Institute of the University of Central Asia NABU Naturschutzbund Deutschland (Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union) NBSAP National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan NEST National Environmental Security Task Force List of boxes NGO non-governmental organisation ODA Official Development Assistance Box 1 The transboundary Pamir and Hindu Kush – Mountain monarchs and snow leopards (KLC 10) 94 OECD Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development Box 2 Kazakhstan/Uzbekistan steppe – Saigas (KLCs 5 and 7) 99 PA protected area Box 3 The Dasht-e-Kavir– Asiatic cheetah (KLC 3) 100 PPR peste des petits ruminants Box 4 Western Gissar Mountains in Uzbekistan, a unique centre of origin for plants in Asia 102 PRC priority region for conservation SEA strategic environmental assessment SLAWEN Snow Leopard and Wildlife Enforcement Network SLCU Snow Leopard Conservation Units SMART Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool tCO e tons of carbon dioxide equivalent List of abbreviations and acronyms 2 UK United Kingdom ACBK Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity of Kazakhstan UN//UNDP/UNEP United Nations/Development Programme/Environment Programme CAMI Central Asia Mammals Initiative UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change CBD Convention on Biological Diversity UNODC United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime CCPP contagious caprine pleuropneumonia USA United States of America CDV canine distemper virus USAID United States Agency for International Development CEPF Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund USDA United States Department of Agriculture CIS Commonwealth of Independent States WCS Wildlife Conservation Society CITES Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species WDPA World Database on Protected Areas CMS Convention on Migratory Species WHS World Heritage Site CSO civil society organisation WWF World Wide Fund for Nature CSR corporate social responsibility DAC Development Assistance Committee of the OECD EBRD European Bank for Reconstruction and Development 18 | LARGER THAN TIGERS | Inputs for a strategic approach to biodiversity conservation in Asia – Regional reports | 19 0 Executive summary Grassland, forest and mountain ecosystems in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Central Asia (as well as East Asia) has large areas of remote, natural ecosystems with sparse human populations. This creates opportunities and challenges for conservation and social development in the region. #0 0 _ Executive summary his chapter covers the Central Asian countries of Afghan- leaving small, isolated populations unable to recover from istan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan shocks and vulnerable to other pressures. The expansion of road, Tand Uzbekistan, and the central and eastern portion of rail and pipeline networks presents an obstacle to the movement Iran. It is a region dominated by some of the world’s largest of herds of large mammals, which rely on their ability to migrate remaining areas of steppe and desert, but also with important to avoid extreme weather and find pasture. This threatens their wetlands and high mountain ecosystems. While forest cover is survival, through direct mortality and through isolating popu- limited, there is a large diversity of forest types, including the lations, leaving them vulnerable to disease or poaching. Inter- wild ancestors of several of the fruit and nut species that are action between wildlife and domestic livestock heightens the now widely domesticated. Located at the junction of three of risk of disease transmission and may result in killing by herders. the world’s bio-geographic realms, the region has species typical Many of these threats will be intensified by the impacts of cli- of the Palearctic (e.g. wolf, brown bear), Indo-Malayan realm mate change, which is expected to have a severe impact on large (e.g. palm civet, leopard cat) and Afrotropics (e.g. cheetah, cara- areas of this dry region through changes to the intensity and cal). In addition, the steppe and deserts support large herds of regularity of rainfall. migratory ungulates including saiga antelope, goitered gazelle and Asiatic wild ass. The charismatic fauna of the mountains Underlying these threats are the growing pressure from popu- ⌃ includes snow leopard, mountain sheep (urial, argali) and goats lation growth, especially where this is linked to rural poverty; Nomadic herders' tents and yaks, Afghanistan.