SDSN Kazakhstan will be part of a SNAPP-funded Resilient Rangelands Project

The SDSN Kazakhstan became a member of inter-disciplinary working group to implement the “Resilient Rangelands: Balancing rural economies and ecosystem integrity” project, funded by Science for Nature and People Partnership (SNAPP). SNAPP is an initiative that aims to develop models that will underpin the next phase of nature conservation and sustainable development and it is founded as a partnership between The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) at the University of California.

This Resilient Rangelands will be led by a consortium of partners including the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) in the UK, the Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity (ACBC) in Kazakhstan, and the World Conservation Society in Mongolia. Rangelands cover more of the Earth’s land surface than any other land type and include some of its last great wild spaces. The Eurasian Steppe, including Kazakh and Mongolian rangelands, harbours unique species and has a rich pastoralist history embedded in the proud cultures of both nations. As both countries transition into market economies after communist pasts, finding a balance between wildlife conservation (with concomitant ecosystem and societal benefits) and increasing pressures to intensify use of rangeland systems for rural and national economic development is an urgent question facing custodians of these rangelands.

Together with other 16 institutions comprising conservation NGOs, herder associations, university researchers, and the UN FAO, the SDSN Kazakhstan will help explore the ways to optimize management of Kazakh and Mongolian rangeland ecosystems to harmonise objectives of nature conservation and agricultural development. The project will use participatory approaches to develop scenarios for the western Kazakhstan and eastern Mongolia regions under different developmental pathways. The project outputs will result in spatial plans and management options to guide project delivery and provide evidence to develop supportive policy frameworks at national levels. In addition, project timing allows for the research findings to feed into the global platform on rangelands discourse provided by the FAO-led UN International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (2026), offering valuable insights to the global rangelands debate.