Alyona Krivosheyeva, Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity of Kazakhstan

Among the priority tasks of the Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative (ADCI) implemented by ACBK and partners is the efficient management of protected areas in the ADCI network so they can achieve their goals. Five year Protected Area Management Plans are an essential tool for effective management.

The Altyn Dala Reserve, which aims to protect the calving and migration areas of the Betpak Dala saiga population, has no official management plan, so we held a seminar to develop one in the Reserve's headquarters in Amangeldy village, Kostanay province, on 3-4 August 2016. The event was initiated by ACBK and supported by the Committee for Forestry and Wildlife of the Ministry of Agriculture in cooperation with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. About 30 people attended, including officials from the Committee for Forestry and Wildlife and specialists responsible for management planning in three protected areas - Altyn Dala Reserve, Irgiz Turgay State Nature Reserve and Korgylzhan Reserve.

The participants discussed the theory of management planning, studying the key characteristics of each of the protected areas, analyzing the main threats, determining the principal tasks, forming the long-term goals and so on. At the same time they scrutinized the existing Management Plan for the Altyn Dala Reserve, which has yet to be approved. ACBK also organized training courses for state inspectors and scientific researchers on using GPS navigators, collecting monitoring information and entering the data into a recently improved database.  

In 2016 ACBK and the Saiga Conservation Alliance implemented a joint project to financially support anti-poaching activities in the Altyn Dala and Irgiz Turgay State Nature Reserves, so as to improve conditions for state rangers at reserves and their anti-poaching effectiveness. The project purchased 92 items of equipment, including cameras, desktops, laptops, binoculars, GPS, tents and sleeping bags, 43 of which were given to the Altyn Dala Reserve, and 49 to the Irgiz Turgay Reserve. The equipment will be monitored to ensure effective use.  The funding for this project came from the Wildlife Conservation Network under the SCA's appeal to support saiga conservation after the 2015 mass die-off.