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Vladimir Terentyev1, Mark
Pestov2* 1- Association for the Conservation of
Biodiversity of Kazakhstan; 2 -"Dront" Centre for Ecology,
Russia
*Corresponding author:Mark Pestov,vipera@dront.ru
Irina Novak, biodiversity@tut.by
Freiburg University, Germany
Introduction
An important milestone in improving saiga population status was
the entering into force of the Memorandum of Understanding
concerning Conservation, Restoration and Sustainable Use of the
Saiga Antelope (the Saiga MoU), which was signed by all range
states and is coordinated by the Convention on Migratory Species. I
explored the MoU's role in the restoration of saiga populations;
the results may be useful for restoration of other migratory
species.
Theoretical basis
Alexander Grigoryants is acting head of the State Biocontrol Department of the Nature Protection Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan. He has worked on the protection of Uzbekistan's unique natural heritage for many years. He is also in charge of the implementation of international conventions including CITES and CMS, which cover saiga conservation actions.
The editor of Saiga News interviews Alexander Grigoryants
The most striking memorable moments of his career are connected with his operational work combatting poaching.
Kirsty Simkin, kirsten.simkin@some.ox.ac.uk
University of Oxford
There is a need for high quality impact evaluation in
conservation biology. In response to this need there is a growing
body of work on how best to evaluate conservation interventions.
However, often these methods are too time-consuming or
resource-heavy for small NGOs to carry out. The Theory of Change
approach has the potential to be a useful and feasible approach for
small NGOs. As part of my undergraduate degree I used the Saiga
Conservation Alliance's work in Uzbekistan to trial the Theory of
Change approach to impact evaluation.
Jürgensen, J., D.G. Drucker, A.J. Stuart, M. Schneider, B.
Buuveibaatar, H. Bocherens. 2017. Quaternary Science Reviews.160:
150-161.
The saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica) is one of the typical late
Pleistocene species of the cold and arid mammoth steppe that
covered a large area of northern hemisphere. The species is
currently endangered and persists only in small areas of the
Central Asian steppe and desert ecosystems.
Alyona Krivosheyeva, Association for the Conservation of
Biodiversity of Kazakhstan, alyona.krivosheyeva@acbk.kz
Sudden death of 200,000 Critically Endangered saiga antelopes was caused by unusual environmental conditions
The sudden death of over 200,000 saiga antelopes in Kazakhstan in May 2015, more than 80% of the affected population and more than 60% of the global population of this species, baffled the world.
In just three weeks entire herds of tens of thousands of healthy animals, died of haemorrhagic septicaemia across a landscape equivalent to the area of the British Isles in the Betpak-Dala region of Kazakhstan. These deaths were caused byPasteurella multocidabacteria.
Our friends at Nautilus Magazine have created a beautiful short film about the challenges of saiga conservation in recent years.
The film sets the scene, helping us understand why saigas are in the critical position they are currently in.
It then brings us up to date, reporting on the results into months of research into what caused the tragic loss of over 220,000 saigas over 13 different populations in Kazakhstan in 2015.