Kazakhstan's saiga population has reached 4.7 million, while the snow leopard population has grown to approximately 190 individuals. This was stated by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at the Biodiversity Leaders Summit, according to the Akorda press service. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Sputnik Kazakhstan.
According to the President, Kazakhstan has achieved significant results in biodiversity conservation. "Today, almost 98 percent of the global saiga population inhabits the Kazakh steppe. If in 2003 there were only 21,000 saiga in the country, by this spring the figure reached 4.7 million," said Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
The head of state also noted the effectiveness of snow leopard protection efforts. According to him, the snow leopard was on the verge of extinction in the 1990s. Now, thanks to systematic protection measures and scientific monitoring, its population in Kazakhstan has grown to approximately 190 individuals. In addition, about 70% of the snow leopard's habitat is part of the country's specially protected natural areas.
President Tokayev also touched upon the project to return the Turan tiger to its historical habitat. He thanked Russia, the UN Development Programme, the World Wide Fund for Nature and other international partners for supporting this initiative. According to Tokayev, in July of this year, for the first time in seventy years, a tiger was released into the wild in Kazakhstan. This was an important event for the country.
Furthermore, Kazakhstan, together with Czech, German and Hungarian partners, has launched efforts to reintroduce Przewalski's horses to the Kazakh steppe. The President emphasized the importance of joint work by government agencies, scientists and international partners to preserve rare animals and increase their numbers.