Over more than 30 years of UNDP work in Kazakhstan, more than 200 projects worth over US$210 million have been implemented in partnership with the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Global Environment Facility, the Green Climate Fund, the Asian Development Bank, the Islamic Development Bank, the World Bank, the European Union, the Government of Japan, the Government of the Republic of Korea, the private sector, as well as core resources contributors to UNDP at the global level.

Some of the first areas of UNDP technical assistance were projects on environmental restoration, health care, poverty eradication and support for the livelihoods of local communities. Environmental projects aimed at supporting the Aral Sea region and restoring the territories adjacent to the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site were implemented. For example, in 1997, the first UN experts arrived in the region to assess the needs of the region, which led to the creation of the first diagnostic center in regional cenre, Semey. This initiative became the beginning of numerous projects aimed at improving the health of local population and building social infrastructure of the region.

Since late 1990s, UNDP has provided expert support in the development of strategic documents for the country's development, including the Kazakhstan 2030 Strategy, the Kazakhstan 2050 Strategy, the Concept for the Transition to a Green Economy, the Low-Carbon Development Concept until 2060, the Concept for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity, as well as the expert support to the National Development Plan of Kazakhstan until 2029. UNDP facilitated the adoption of significant legislative documents in the field of social protection of the population and provided technical expertise in the development and updating of documents such as the Environmental Code, Water Code, Forest Code, Social Code and many others. With the expert and methodological support of UNDP, reforms were carried out in public service and public administration aimed at increasing the openness, accountability and flexibility of public institutions. With the support of UNDP, an assessment of the effectiveness of government agencies was introduced. UNDP has actively supported the National Preventive Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture since its establishment in 2014.

Throughout its presence in the country, UNDP has provided expert support for the implementation of Kazakhstan’s international commitments within the framework of the human rights, gender equality, disability rights, biodiversity and climate agendas.

An important area of UNDP work in Kazakhstan is supporting the country in showcasing its successful development experience in the international arena. In this area, UNDP assisted in the establishment of the Astana Civil Service Hub – a platform for sharing knowledge and experience between more than 40 countries; the Official Development Assistance (ODA) of Kazakhstan and its operator, the KAZAID agency; the implementation of regional projects in the field of implementing the SDG agenda, combating gender-based violence and preventing violent extremism.

Over the last twenty-five years, UNDP, with financial support from the Global Environment Facility and through related grants with the Government of Kazakhstan, has implemented a number of large-scale initiatives aimed at preserving biodiversity, increasing energy efficiency and energy conservation in the residential sector, developing the renewable energy sector and the green financial instruments market. For example, at the initiative of UNDP, ten new specially protected natural areas were created, such as the Akzhayik, Altyn-Dala, Ile-Balkhash nature reserves and Buyratau, Zhongar Alatau and Tarbagatai national parks, while the areas of six existing specially protected natural areas were expanded. For the first time in Kazakhstan, the Kapshagay-Balkhash and Yrgyz-Torgay-Zhylanshyk ecological corridors were created on an area of 2.9 million hectares, which today make it possible to protect the migration routes of rare species of wildlife.

UNDP supports the piloting of innovative practices for the protection, accounting and restoration of forest resources. In particular, the first and only genetic bank of seeds of especially valuable tree species in Kazakhstan has been created, which ensures long-term storage of seeds of eighteen species of forest-forming species.

UNDP actively assists the Government in developing legal mechanisms for access to carbon markets, including Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement. As part of this work, the concept of pilot projects on forest carbon offsets is being developed for further testing.

Within the current UNDP Country Programme, together with national and international partners, such flagship initiatives as the Digital Family Card, the Regional SDG Platform project for Central Asia, the project to reduce the risks of investing in renewable energy (RES) technologies, the project to preserve biodiversity and restore forests in Kazakhstan and many others have been implemented.

Today, UNDP is the largest UN agency in Kazakhstan. The UNDP Country Programme for 2026-2030 will focus on further development of human capital, social protection of vulnerable groups, economic development and environmental sustainability, promotion of the human rights agenda and the rule of law, regional and local development.