LocationsIn Central Asia, regional transboundary cooperation is key
Shared wildlife, shared landscapes, shared responsibility
June 29, 2026
A local man rides through the Kulun-Ata Lake region, Kyrgyzstan
UNDP Kyrgyzstan
From the glaciers of the Tien Shan and Pamir mountains to the deserts, steppes and river basins downstream, Central Asia’s ecosystems are deeply interconnected across borders. Rivers flow between countries. Wildlife migrates through shared landscapes. Mountain ecosystems regulate water systems that sustain agriculture, energy production and communities far beyond the highlands themselves.
But today, these ecosystems are under growing pressure from climate change and human impact, placing increasing pressure on fragile environments and rural livelihoods. Communities living closest to nature are often the first to feel the consequences — through water scarcity, degraded pastures, reduced agricultural productivity and increasing climate-related risks.
These challenges do not stop at national borders.
And thus, protecting Central Asia’s ecosystems requires countries to work together to conserve ecological corridors, strengthen transboundary protected areas, improve water and land governance, and invest in climate-resilient livelihoods for communities whose futures are closely tied to nature. Governments, communities, development partners and the scientific community need to collaborate, both within and between countries. Through bilateral agreements, joint wildlife monitoring, coordinated anti-poaching efforts and regional platforms such as the Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Program (GSLEP) countries are exchanging scientific knowledge, aligning conservation approaches and jointly protecting ecosystems that extend far beyond political borders.
Transboundary cooperation has already taken shape across the region.
For example, a highly successful nature conservation agreement in Central Asia protects the Ustyurt Plateau and the Turan Temperate Deserts, spanning across Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. The initiative has successfully safeguarded vulnerable ecosystems and migratory species like the saiga antelope and snow leopard.
UNDP Kazakhstan/Saltore Saparbayev
Among the most powerful symbols of this shared natural heritage is the snow leopard—its survival reflects the health of entire ecosystems that millions of people depend upon every day. Healthy mountain landscapes help secure freshwater resources, reduce disaster risks, sustain pastures and agriculture, preserve biodiversity and strengthen resilience to climate change across the region.
The snow leopard has become one of the clearest examples of how coordinated conservation efforts can help restore fragile ecosystems across borders.
In Kazakhstan, the species inhabits mountain systems that extend beyond national boundaries into China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Uzbekistan, making its protection inseparable from regional cooperation.
Over the past decade, habitat countries have strengthened efforts to protect the species through national conservation strategies, expanded protected areas and improved ecosystem monitoring. Large-scale monitoring and habitat conservation initiatives have generated new data on snow leopard populations and migration routes across the Tien Shan and Altai Mountain systems.
Kazakhstan’s snow leopard population had declined to an estimated 80–100 animals by the mid-1990s, as habitat degradation, human pressure and ecosystem fragmentation intensified across mountain landscapes. Since then, systemic interventions, including digital monitoring, the establishment of a genetic bank and studies of behavior and migration routes, helped support the creation of the Merke Regional Nature Park in 2026, strengthening the protection of critical habitats and ecological corridors shared across borders. Today, the population is estimated at 152–189 snow leopards, with around 70 percent of the species’ range in Kazakhstan now falling within protected areas.
Kulun-Ata Lake, Kyrgyzstan
UNDP Kyrgyzstan
With more than 125,000 km² of high-mountain habitat and one of the largest snow leopard landscapes in Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan views the conservation of snow leopard landscapes as both a national and regional priority. Protecting these habitats also means safeguarding forests, pastures, glaciers, snowfields and watersheds that sustain communities and economies beyond national borders. The country promotes a landscape approach that strengthens ecological connectivity through protected areas and ecological corridors, while establishing a legal framework for the long-term protection of glaciers and snowfields.
By 2024, national experts and international partners had carried out the country's largest-ever coordinated snow leopard assessment, establishing a baseline for long-term monitoring and demonstrating that no single protected area is sufficient to maintain the population. Based on this, Kyrgyzstan established the Chatkal and Ak-Ilbirs Ecological Corridors, connecting almost 700,000 hectares of key snow leopard habitats.
Beyond its national conservation efforts, Kyrgyzstan hosted the inaugural Global Snow Leopard Conservation Forum (where the 12 snow leopard range countries adopted the Bishkek Declaration), supported the establishment of International Snow Leopard Day and promotes transboundary cooperation through the global snow leopard ecosystem protection program, regional agreements and joint conservation efforts among range countries.
UNDP Tajikistan
In the mountains of Tajikistan, people have lived alongside snow leopards for generations. But shrinking pastures and disappearing wildlife pushed communities and predators into conflict. A conservation project, led by UNDP and funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), linked economic progress with wildlife protection. Almost 500 people from remote mountain areas, including protected area rangers and community members, learned smart patrolling and wildlife monitoring, which improved wildlife tracking and threat detection and helped reduce illegal hunting and tree cutting.
In a simple but effective solution to reduce conflict between people and snow leopards, communities received hay to feed livestock for just 20 extra days in spring, allowing mountain pastures to recover and wild prey to return. With more food in the wild, snow leopards were less likely to attack farm animals.
Communities were trusted to lead through local initiatives, but success was not driven by communities alone. Even if biodiversity frameworks are in place, their success depends on the capacities of staff at all levels, including stronger institutions, protected area management and closer cooperation among scientists and conservation agencies.
UNDP Turkmenistan / Dovlet Rejepov
Moving down from the mountains to the Aral Sea Basin, communities are also at the forefront of tackling environmental degradation that has had significant social and economic consequences for the region. Water availability, land degradation and ecosystem health are intrinsically linked across national boundaries. Dust and salt storms carrying pollutants over long distances, soil degradation, salinization of agricultural lands, biodiversity loss and increasing pressure on water resources affect communities across Central Asia.
In Turkmenistan, additional climate-related pressures such as declining agricultural productivity, degraded grazing lands and increasing water stress are intensify and impacting local communities, particularly women and vulnerable households that depend heavily on natural resources for livelihoods and food security.
Across affected landscapes, practical efforts are helping reduce pressure on natural resources while supporting livelihoods and biodiversity conservation. Communities are restoring degraded pastures and adopting more sustainable land management practices to improve productivity while reducing pressure on fragile ecosystems. Strengthening women’s participation in sustainable resource management and local decision-making is becoming increasingly important.
UNDP Uzbekistan
Community-led solutions in Uzbekistan’s mountain landscapes are also demonstrating how ecosystem protection can go hand in hand with improving everyday life. Among many locally driven initiatives, simple practical measures such as fencing that helps protect household gardens and crops from wildlife intrusion and uncontrolled grazing, are improving food security and reducing economic losses. Access to piped water within rural villages eliminates the need for frequent journeys to remote water sources, protecting the natural environment while improving living conditions.
Together, these individual solutions tailored to local needs reduce pressure on sensitive natural areas, lower the risk of human-wildlife encounters and strengthen the relationship between communities and the ecosystems on which they depend. Like in Tajikistan, they reflect an important lesson: conservation efforts are most effective when communities benefit directly from environmental protection and become active partners in safeguarding nature.
Kulan and gazelle are the main inhabitants of the Altyn Emel National Park, which sits along the border with Kyrgyzstan.
UNDP Kazakhstan/Ainur Khaliollayeva
Healthy mountain ecosystems help regulate river systems that sustain economies and populations across borders. Degraded forests, pastures and watersheds increase erosion, water insecurity and disaster risks for entire regions downstream. Protecting nature is therefore also an investment in regional stability, economic resilience and human security.
The region has already demonstrated growing cooperation—countries are expanding protected areas, strengthening environmental governance and investing in ecosystem restoration. Regional dialogue and collaboration are increasing.
If Central Asia is to safeguard its shared natural heritage, three priorities deserve greater attention: investment in transboundary ecological corridors; stronger cooperation on water, land and biodiversity governance; and expanded support for communities whose livelihoods depend directly on healthy ecosystems.
As Resident Representatives of UNDP in Central Asia, we believe that with the leadership of the five Central Asian countries, the region can become a global example of how biodiversity conservation, climate resilience and sustainable development can advance together across borders.
At this moment, we call for stronger partnerships and greater investment in transboundary biodiversity conservation across Central Asia.
The snow leopard does not recognize national borders. Neither do rivers, droughts, dust storms or climate impacts. Our response cannot stop at borders either.
A full version of this piece was published in The Times of Central Asia on the occasion of the 2026 GEF Assembly in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.