Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan sign a memorandum to restore the saiga antelope population

On 12 November, Kazakhstan's Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Alibek Kuantyrov and Aziz Abukhakimov, chairman of Uzbekistan's National Committee on Ecology and Climate Change, signed a memorandum on preserving and restoring the saiga population. The Kazakh ministry passed the information to the Qazinform agency.

Under the document, the two sides will jointly monitor saiga numbers and migration, exchange scientific data, fit satellite tags and run veterinary checks. A reintroduction programme within the species' historical range will be drawn up, relocations coordinated, and pastures and water bodies restored.

The memorandum also covers protecting migration corridors, fighting poaching and illegal wildlife trade, joint conservation patrols and transboundary protected areas. The report gives no figures on funding or animal numbers.