The Tien Shan mountain range covers most of the Kyrgyz Republic, southern Kazakhstan, and smaller areas of Uzbekistan, China, and Tajikistan. This territory plays an important role in conserving biodiversity and maintaining environmental sustainability in Central Asia. In 2004, Conservation International identified the Tien Shan range as a “biodiversity hotspot” based on the high numbers of endemic species and the significant level of threat—the concentration of species in Western Tien Shan is 63 times higher for birds and 37 times higher for mammals than the average for Central Asia.

“The Tien Shan Mountains of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyz Republic are a unique, beautiful and tremendously important ecosystem; they are the home to a striking array of wild ancestors of currently commercial crops such as apples, walnuts and tulips. The mountain range also plays a key role in the distribution of rare Asian fauna such as the Snow Leopard,” said Motoo Konishi, World Bank Country Director for the Central Asia region. “It is vital that these fragile and yet environmentally, socially and economically important areas are managed wisely and sustainably, both for today’s population and for future generations that depend on the range for their energy, water and livelihoods.”

The new Tien Shan Ecosystem Development Project will contribute to biodiversity conservation, sustainable forest management, and climate change mitigation in Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic. It builds on the experience of the earlier Central Asia Transboundary Biodiversity Project, which also supported biodiversity conservation in the Western Tien Shan and assisted Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, and Uzbekistan in strengthening and coordinating national policies, regulations, and institutional arrangements for biodiversity protection.

"The Tien-Shan region is also known in some cultures as the Heaven’s Mountains or as the Celestial Mountains. Yet its beauty is truly universal; it contains some of the world’s most unique and rare ecosystems. This new effort with our partners will help facilitate local initiatives to develop eco-tourism and other sustainable development practices that we hope will help continue the progress made toward meeting international environmental conventions," said Monique Barbut CEO and Chairperson of the Global Environment Facility. "We encourage international organizations, donor states, and other interested parties to support these efforts as we join with these Central Asian countries to resolve regional and global environmental problems."

The new project will strengthen biodiversity conservation by supporting Protected Area management in 12 Protected Areas (PAs) by building technical capacity, investing strategically in PA infrastructure, supporting local efforts to reduce threats to biodiversity in and around project PAs, increasing public awareness, and promoting sustainable tourism. Additionally in Kazakhstan, the project will finance small grants for local groups and organizations to conserve and reduce threats to biodiversity and integrate conservation into the broader landscape. For example, small grants may finance eco-tourism guest houses, yurts (traditional nomads’ houses), handicrafts, wildlife information programs, bird watching and other similar activities.

Public awareness and information campaigns will be implemented to boost support for biodiversity conservation both locally and internationally, to generate interest in the region’s natural and cultural heritage, and to raise awareness about national obligations associated with international conservation treaties. The project will include public awareness programs, a CITES (UN convention on international trade on endangered species) campaign, and UNESCO World Heritage Site nomination activities.

The overall cost of the project is US$11.98 million, of which US$8.00 million (a US$4 million grant and a US$4 million loan on highly concessional terms) is funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development, US$0.63 million from the Policy and Human Resources Development Fund grant, and US$3.35 million by the Global Environmental Facility.