The Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative (ADCI) is a partnership between the Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity of Kazakhstan (ACBK), the Government of Kazakhstan, Fauna and Flora, Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS), and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. The Initiative’s aim is to support the conservation of steppe and semi-desertecosystems across Kazakhstan.[1][2]
In 2024 it was awarded The Earthshot Prize in the Protect and Restore Nature category.
The effort also hopes to reintroduce the Turkmenian kulan and Przewalski's horse, although the primary focus has been on the conservation of native saiga populations.[2]
Conservation of Kulans
Currently[when?], a program under ADCI is preparing a tiny population of endangered kulans for release into the wild.[6] In 2017, a first batch of nine animals was released into an acclimatisation cage on the outskirts of the protected area of Altyn Dala. The creatures were carried 1200 kilometres by helicopter from Altyn-Emel National Park in the country's southeast.[7]
References
^"Altyn Dala". Frankfurt Zoological Society. 4 March 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2022.