At the meeting of the joint Russian-Kazakh commission on environmental issues, the parties discussed the interim results of joint work. One of the main joint projects was the program for the conservation and restoration of the Irtysh River basin.
Previously, the water body was recognized as one of the dirtiest in Russia. Today, the parties are implementing measures to improve the health of the Irtysh and will continue to actively work in this direction, despite the completion of the project this year.
The project started in 2021 and will be completed at the end of this year. For further work, the meeting decided to develop a new draft program for the next five years, the press service of the Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia reported.
The parties pay special attention to the work in the territories of the cross-border Russian-Kazakh Altai reserve. It includes the Russian Katunsky Nature Reserve and the Kazakh Katon-Karagai National Park. It is home to rare animals such as snow leopard, black vulture, saker falcon, eagle and others.
In the near future, Russia and Kazakhstan plan to implement several more joint projects aimed at preserving the Amur tiger and saiga populations. For example, the parties plan to create cross-border corridors for saiga migration. Experts note that with the increase in animal numbers, there is a need to increase the territories where animals cross the border, according to nia.eco.
Alex Shishlo, Editor in Chief of the European Bureau, Rough&Polished
