https://news.mongabay.com/2025...nst-illegal-hunting/



Community conservancies in Kyrgyzstan see conservation success against illegal hunting


Sonam Lama Hyolmo
26 May 2025
Asia

Vast terrains in northern Kyrgyzstan that host numerous flora and fauna — many of them endemic to the country — were a hub for illegal hunting and poaching of the species.

Community-based conservancies established by local NGOs are helping species make an effective comeback, conservationists say.
Records of roe deer increased from 33 in 2013 to more than 250 in 2020 in an area of 20,000 hectares (49,421 acres) protected by Shumkar-Tor.

As the community-led conservation shows progress with increased species populations, conservancies are scaling up their monitoring efforts by introducing digital tools for patrolling and installing camera traps in isolated areas.


In the rugged mountainous terrains of northern Kyrgyzstan, populations of roe deer, red deer and wild boar are increasing. About a decade ago, these vast terrains that hosted numerous flora and fauna, many of them endemic to the country, were a hub for the illegal hunting and poaching of the species. But community-based conservancies established by local NGOs are helping species make an effective comeback, conservationists say.

“The local community’s ownership and attitude shift towards species conservation has made this possible,” says Zairbek Kubanychbekov, director of the Ilbirs Foundation, which currently supports 10 community-based conservancies (CBCs) spread across nine districts. They support their member conservancies with trainings and GPS, camera traps, patrolling gear, walkie-talkies, horses and vehicles to patrol the protected areas.

“About 80 local community members in 10 CBCs have been trained,” Kubanychbekov says. Local people who are members of the CBCs know their territory and therefore have knowledge of the wildlife species, their habitats and threats. This, he tells Mongabay, makes their participation significant in the conservation effort.


Why community-based conservancies?

Local community NGO Shumkar-Tor established one of the earliest conservancies in Chüy Region in northern Kyrgyzstan in 2012. This was an initial step to community conservation following years of political and social unrest since the country’s independence in 1991.

“The Soviet Union’s collapse brought in a deficiency of resources, so people depended on hunting wildlife for food, and poaching was widespread,” says Temirbek Abdykadyrov, chairperson of Shumkar-Tor. “But as things started to get normal, the hunting for food developed into a recreation that had a huge decline in wildlife population.”

To stop people from unsustainable hunting, it was important to get locals on board, he tells Mongabay. The region boasts a variety of endangered species listed in the Red Book of Kyrgyzstan, including the snow leopard (Panthera uncia), argali (Ovis ammon) and gazelle (Gazella subgutturosa). The red book is a list of endangered species of plants and animals found in the country that are legally protected.

According to a recent report on community wildlife management prepared by the Frankfurt Zoological Society in collaboration with other organizations, the records of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) increased from 33 in 2013 to more than 250 in 2020 in an area of 20,000 hectares (49,421 acres) protected by Shumkar-Tor.


Patrolling the land

The community conservancies today protect vast hectares of land from illegal hunting and poaching despite having limited rangers and resources, local organizers say.

The Ministry of Natural Resources, Ecology and Technical Supervision of the Kyrgyz Republic deploys two state rangers in each district. As a district covers thousands of hectares, two state rangers are not enough, thereby requiring the local members of CBCs — who work voluntarily — to help patrol the areas.

Despite a lack of state rangers, local participation has had to play a role and has led to effective patrols, says Sardarbek Momunaliev, chairperson of Jashyl-Oroon CBC. This has brought a lot of boots on the ground to strictly monitor illegal hunting and poaching activities in these areas, he tells Mongabay.

Located in the Toktogul district in western Kyrgyzstan, the conservancy patrols illegal hunting and poaching of 24 animal and bird species, including the snow leopard and endangered bird species like saker falcon (Falco cherrug), Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus) and steppe eagle (Aquila nipalensis).

Some sources say government officials are at times involved in illegal poaching. However, because the local conservancy members work voluntarily, Momunaliev says they at least don’t fear losing their jobs when the poachers try to threaten when they get caught. This is not the case for state rangers, who may stay silent to protect their jobs, he says.

But some poachers use guns and advanced equipment like thermal imaging tools that make objects and animals visible and easier to hunt at nighttime; this adds another challenge to patrolling.

“Given that there are limited state rangers to patrol thousands of hectares of these biodiverse areas, community members from these conservancies have been a crucial support in strengthening patrolling,” says Tattybaev Kubanichbek, a state ranger from the Toktogul district.

In late 2022, Momunaliev says, the conservancy fined individuals engaged in the illegal shooting of chukar partridges (Alectoris chukar) and the transport of pine trees from Alatay State Nature Park located in the Toktogul district. The following year, a poacher was detained and fined for the illegal hunting of a marmot, and individuals were detained while attempting to transport 3.5 tons of illegally harvested endemic Persian onions (Allium aflatunense).

Horseback patrolling in one of the community-based conservancies.

Community members patrol on horseback in one of the community-based conservancies. Image courtesy of Ilbirs Foundation.
While horseback patrolling is a common way to conduct monitoring for some conservancies, four CBCs, including Jashyl-Oroon, which spans across 250,000 hectares (617,763 acres), introduced the SMART (Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool) program for patrolling.

Momunaliev says the digital tool has improved the efficiency of rangers. “The digital tool helps track patrol routes, record observations and accurate georeferenced data can also be entered,” Momunaliev tells Mongabay. “With the digital tool, the conservancy reported eight cases of illegal fishing, plant harvesting and poaching in 2024.”

To protect the endangered species, Dersuu Akparaliev, chief specialist of the Biodiversity Resource Management Department at the ministry, says they collaborate with customs and border control services. One key achievement, he tells Mongabay, is the development of an electronic database that tracks the trade of wild flora and fauna species listed under the CITES convention.

Access to the database is provided to customs, border control and other concerned offices, which allows authorities to verify permits and check their authenticity when wildlife-related items cross the border.

“The system also includes a methodology for identifying animal parts and derivatives, indicating the exact species and the required documentation for import/export,” Akparaliev says.

Camera traps have also helped track illegal activities where physical patrolling seems difficult, and digital tools face technical glitches.

“With the support from local communities, over 80 camera traps are installed in the CBCs,” he tells Mongabay. “And we have plans to install more in remote mountain regions that are home to many species and susceptible to illegal hunting and poaching.”