Rare Animals and Plants Go Extinct in Kyrgyzstan Due to Human Activities

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In Kyrgyzstan, a number of plant, fungi and animal species are endangered mainly due to human activities, while some species have become extinct.

Protecting a mount

About five years ago, residents of a suburb of Bishkek spoke against the quarry development at Mount Boz-Boltok in the south of the capital city. Since then, local population has made many efforts to draw attention of officials and deputies to the problem. Facebook users have even created a special group ‘Let’s protect our Boz-Boltok!’, where they regularly make posts about the negative influence of brick factories operating in the area. According to them, daily dust, smoke and harmful gas emissions pollute the air and have a negative impact on the public’s health.

Ecologists are warning about the destruction of the relict area.

According to Dmitry Milko, senior fellow of the Institute of Biology of the National Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Bashkarasuu deposit near the western foot of Boz-Boltok, was explored back in the 1950s. The main layers of the loam soil have been depleted. Now the sand and gravel mix is being mined by an open-pit method from the mount. 

Operations at Mount Boz-Boltok. Photo courtesy of Dmitry Milko

“License holders received a conclusion at the time that there were no shrubs or trees in the development area, and that there were no flora and fauna species listed on the Red List of Threatened Species of the Kyrgyz Republic there.  But our research has proved it wrong,” said Dmitry Milko to CABAR.asia.

His colleagues and he have visited the mount on field surveys as a part of special commissions several times.

As a result of surveys held in the area of Mount Boz-Boltok, scientists have proved the existence of the following plant species listed on the Red List of Threatened Species of the Kyrgyz Republic: Greig’s, Zinaida’s, Ostrovsky’s, and Kolpakovsky’s tulips, as well as Kolpakowski’s iris. The fellows of the Academy of Sciences have indicated that quarry development had directly destroyed the unique plant habitats.

Certain flora and fauna species of Boz-Boltok. Photo courtesy of Dmitry Milko

According to the conclusion of the Institute of Biology of the National Academy of Sciences, the state environmental examination of the project for the sand and gravel mix development in the Baskarasuu Yuzhny area was carried out improperly, i.e. the environmental legislation was violated, during the license issue.

According to Article 23 of the Kyrgyz Republic Law “On the protection and use of the flora,” rare and endangered plant species are subject to special protection. Any actions leading to the destruction, reduction of stocks, or disruption of the habitat of rare and endangered plant species and associations thereof are not allowed.

“The situation faced by the local population of the Ostrovsky’s tulip is qualified as a flat violation of the environmental regulations of the Kyrgyz Republic, namely, the government decree of the Kyrgyz Republic No. 224 dated May 3, 2013, which provides for a fee for assessing the damage caused,” according to the conclusion based on the 2019 field survey.

Since then, the environmental situation at Boz-Boltok has not changed significantly. Local residents continue to raise alarm about the operation of brick factories and air pollution. In December 2024, the Service of Environmental and Technical Supervision under the Ministry of Natural Resources, Ecology, and Technical Supervision conducted large-scale unscheduled inspections at quarries and brick factories. Employees identified gross violations of environmental standards, imposed fines, and temporarily suspended the operations of several companies.

Will moratorium help? 

Unfortunately, Boz-Boltok is not the only example of flora and fauna destruction in the republic.

In spring, according to Dmitry Milko, people actively collect young leaves of foxtail lilies or Eremurus. In Toktogul district of Dzhalal-Abad region, collectors have to go deep in the mountains to collect wild onion and rhubarb because they simply do not exist near villages.

“Populations of bulbous plants are exploited out of control and excessively. You can take as much as you need for yourself, but you cannot turn it into business,” said Dmitry Milko. “In 2019, I took part in the symposium at Khujand, where preserved anzur (giant wild onion) was served at the banquette among other starters. It turned out that Tajikistan faces a severe shortage of its supplies, so it is often procured at our Batken region. It’s a shame because a giant wild onion becomes rare in our southern regions.”

He added that rhubarb is widely sold in spring and early summer at markets and along the Bishkek-Osh route. “However, they simply discard of unsold bundles. People collect it more than it is allowed by law, but no one cares,” the fellow said.

There have been cases when people tried to export the endangered plant species from Kyrgyzstan to other countries. In autumn 2023, the State Tax Service reported the detention of smuggled goods – the roots of Arnebia (Macrotomia) – that is on the list of threatened and endangered species.

According to Ministry of Natural Resources, Ecology and Technical Supervision, over 20 cases of export of protected plant species were registered in 2024.

In December 2024, the agency brought up the draft decree of the cabinet of ministers for public discussion on imposing temporary ban (moratorium) on transportation, purchase and sale, as well as gathering and use of the following plant species until 2027: Macrotomia, Arnebia, Dictamnus, Aconitum, Allium aflatunense, Rhodiola and Helichrysum maracandicum. 

According to the explanatory note, despite the imposed moratorium on gathering and collection of medicinal herbs, the problem of flora protection remains relevant in Kyrgyzstan. Export of forbidden herbal raw material (rare and endangered plant species) has not stopped. It increases the risks of loss of unique flora species.

According to the Ministry of Natural Resources, the enactment of the document will ensure a more effective comprehensive protection of rare and endangered plant species, and also will decrease the risk of their uncontrolled use, trade and export, which will contribute to the conservation of natural resources and sustainable ecological development of the region.

Amendments to the decree will ensure that the ban extends not only to gathering, but also to other kinds of activities – transportation, purchase, sale and export. The document provides for the confiscation of the items used in illegal activities such as processing, production of items and raw materials (workshops, drums, dryers, vehicles, and other equipment).

In addition to plant destruction, there is a poaching shooting of animals and illegal fishing. The Ministry of Natural Resources reports detention of violators of nature protection laws from time to time.

Direct damage to the biodiversity. Photo courtesy of Dmitry Milko

According to the agency, export, transportation, storage and sale of illegally obtained wildlife commodities protected under international treaties, as well as listed on the Red List of Threatened Species of the Kyrgyz Republic, carry a fine of 200 estimate indicators (20 thousand som or about 229 dollars) for individuals, and 650 estimate indicators (65 thousand som or 743 dollars) for legal entities.

Update of priorities

There is a comprehensive package of laws and regulations of different levels regarding environmental protection in Kyrgyzstan, including Criminal, Water, Land and Forest Codes of the Kyrgyz Republic, laws “On the protection of the environment,” “On the protection and use of the flora,” “On the fauna,” “On specially protected nature areas,” and a series of government decrees.

According to the “Priorities of conservation of the biological diversity of the Kyrgyz Republic until 2024” approved by the government decree in 2014, some species went extinct, while others are threatened as a result of human activity.

3 species have gone extinct among the medium and large-sized mammals, while 15 species are threatened with extinction; 4 bird species have gone extinct, while 26 species are at threat of extinction; there are least losses in fauna – only one plant species has gone extinct, with 56 endangered species.

The main reason for the decline in the species diversity in the Kyrgyz Republic is the violation of habitats as a result of economic operations, habitat reduction and direct extermination by humans. According to the document, inventory and monitoring of species diversity are performed unsystematically, mainly in separate groups.

However, biodiversity serves as the basis for creating the necessary conditions for the functioning of ecosystems and providing ecological services necessary for human survival and the sustainable development of civilization, contributes to socioeconomic development and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, including poverty reduction.

Priorities have defined the strategy, programme, principles, and main directions of the Kyrgyz Republic in the field of biodiversity conservation.

As Kumar Mambetaliev, head of the bioresources management department of the Ministry of Natural Resources, Ecology, and Technical Supervision, said to CABAR.asia, a national strategy and Priorities for the conservation of biodiversity until 2030 are currently being developed. A preliminary financial plan has been drawn up, but he did not specify the amount of the funding required.

“Kyrgyzstan is a party to a number of international environmental conventions, including the Convention on Biological Diversity ratified by the Kyrgyz Republic. We feel responsible to the global community for the preservation of biodiversity, and especially mountain ecosystems, which are prone to various negative impacts,” he said.

According to Kumar Mambetaliev, the standard for biodiversity conservation is specially protected nature areas (SPNA). The network of SPNAs in the republic occupies 7.38 per cent of the country’s total area and includes 10 state nature reserves, 13 state natural parks, 64 reserves, as well as the Enver Gareev Botanical Garden in Bishkek and the zoological park in Karakol.

The Ministry of Natural Resources is working to expand the network of specially protected nature areas to 10 per cent. For example, the establishment of the Chon-Alay State Natural Park in Osh region has been initiated. Its area will be about 67 thousand hectares.

Kumar Mambetaliev noted that efforts to preserve biodiversity are underway, but admitted that resources are insufficient. “Even looking at the staff list, we face difficulties in some areas. There is a shortage of inspectors and rangers,” he said.

Experts emphasize that the decline in biodiversity can lead to the destabilization of the biota, the loss of the biosphere integrity, and its ability to support the essential qualities of the environment necessary to sustain life on Earth.

He finds it important to improve the people’s culture, beginning from upbringing the younger generation, to raise awareness of travel workers on the importance of preserving the biodiversity and careful approach to the nature, as well as to toughen up penalties for a range of environmental crimes.

According to Kumar Mambetaliev, the rates of fines for the damage caused to the fauna were increased in 2024. For example, a fine for an illegal hunting of a snow leopard is 2 million som (22.9 thousand dollars), of a brown bear or a maral – 1.5 million som (17.1 thousand dollars).

According to the approved system, vigilant citizens who identify the facts of violation of the nature protection laws of the Kyrgyz Republic and poaching can get a reward – 50 per cent of the amount of claims for damages to wildlife credited to the accumulation account.