Turkmenistan’s experience in the protection of migratory animal species in border territories was demonstrated during the Regional Dialogue on Transboundary Conservation in Central Asia, held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, from 28 to 30 November.
The dialogue platform brought together environmental experts, representatives of state environmental structures from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan, representatives of international projects and organizations cooperating with the region in the field of nature protection and biodiversity research. The regional dialogue is co-organized by the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of Uzbekistan, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the World Bank and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ).
The report on the topic “The current state and ways of cross-border protection of migratory ungulate species in the border territories of the Kaplankyr State Nature Reserve” was presented during one of the sessions by Arazmyrat Amanov, Head of the Scientific Department of the Kaplankyr Reserve of the Ministry of Environmental Protection of Turkmenistan.
The Kaplankyr State Nature Reserve with an area of more than 275 thousand hectares, thanks to the variety of types of primitive and anthropogenic landscapes, is the standard of the nature of Northern Turkmenistan.Gazelle – shoots from camera traps, May 2023
In September of this year, the Kaplankyr Nature Reserve as part of the transnational object of the “Cold Winter Deserts of Turan” became part of the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Currently, there are 4 species of ungulates in the reserve (gazelle, kulan, mountain sheep, wild boar Sus scrofa).
“In recent years, the main groups of gazelles, mountain sheep and kulans have been concentrating on the territory of the Kaplankyr section of the reserve behind the engineering and technical system located on the border with Karakalpakstan (Uzbekistan). There are up to 200 heads of gazelles there,” Amanov said.
“The mountain ram lives on the uplands of Kaplankyr and Ak inishe (Southern Ustyurt). There are 60-70 rams in the border area,” the expert continued.
Kulans are currently concentrated on the territory of the Kaplankyrsky section of the reserve behind the engineering and technical system. According to the calculations of the reserve’s specialists, their number here is about 30-40 heads, and can reach up to 70.
As Amanov noted, the use of camera traps gives good results. 117 heads of gazelles and several kulans were registered at the Kaplankyr site with the help of camera traps in 2022.
Speaking about plans for the future, Arazov noted that in the future it is planned to create buffer zones around the territory of the reserve, the corresponding work is already underway. Also, additional watering holes will be built for wild animals, construction and repair of wells are envisaged for this, new aviaries will be built for gazelles, mountain sheep.
A number of measures are aimed at preserving and increasing the number of wild ungulates, in particular, kulans, including:
- Establishing links between countries for the conservation of transboundary animal species;
- Visits to border areas for monitoring and protection, as well as for biotechnical activities;
- Organization of joint monitoring of animals;
- Exchange of data (on locations, availability, etc.);
- Creation of corridors for migratory species;
- Exchange of experience.
Among the technical measures, it is planned to install 5 observation towers to ensure maximum coverage of key facilities supporting wildlife monitoring, as well as tracking any environmental hazards (for example, fires).
///nCa, 29 November 2023