Kazakhstan sets up Buiratau National Natural Park

    A significant portion of the world’s remaining natural Pontian steppe habitat is found in Kazakhstan.
    Since ancient times, the Kazakh steppe has had an important economic and environmental role to play for local people.
    However, the steppes appear to be the least protected type of ecosystem in Kazakhstan.
    To conserve the unique steppe ecosystems of Central Kazakhstan, a resolution was adopted on March 11, 2011 under on the establishment of the Buiratau National Nature Reserve.
    This is the twelfth national park in Kazakhstan. It was established by the Committee of Forestry and Hunting, and the Ministry of Agriculture, as part of the Zhasyl Damu program for 2011-2014, with the support of the UNDP/GEF Project -- Steppe Conservation and Management.
    Buiratau, a new national park (translated from Kazakh - ‘curly mountain’) is organized into climatic zones, ranging between moderately arid to dry steppe, which implies the area is unique, in that it combines steppe ecosystems and forests (birch, spinescent, sticky alder forest).
    The park is located in the Yereimentau District of the Akmola Oblast (60814 ha) and the Osakarovsk District of the Karaganga Oblast (28154 ha).
    The national park takes up a total of 88,968 hectares, according to Kazinform.