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Around 100 grants will be made available to local conservation groups under a new five-year program to protect threatened wildlife in the Pamir and Tien Shan mountains. The initiative will cover mountain ecosystems across five Central Asian countries, running from 2026 to 2031.
The program has a budget of up to $8 million, with the European Union providing the majority of funding through the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF). The British conservation organization Fauna & Flora will coordinate activities in the region, overseeing grants, providing technical assistance, and helping local organizations develop and manage conservation projects.
The Pamir and Tien Shan mountains form one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots — areas with high concentrations of unique species threatened with extinction. The mountain region covers approximately 860,000 square kilometers across parts of seven countries, including western China and northeastern Afghanistan.
The region is home to Menzbier’s marmot, the steppe eagle, the Semirechensk salamander, and other rare animals. More than 20 regionally threatened tulip species also grow in these mountains.
The main threats to these ecosystems include habitat loss and fragmentation, poaching, overgrazing, and climate change. Habitat fragmentation is particularly dangerous for mountain wildlife, as roads, economic activities, and other barriers make it harder for animals to move between populations.
The program will fund local conservation projects, with particular emphasis on protecting endangered species and maintaining wildlife corridors. Around 100 grants are planned, with recipients also receiving training and technical support. The aim is to enable local organizations to continue managing conservation projects independently after international funding ends.
This is the second phase of CEPF investment in Central Asia’s mountain ecosystems. During the previous phase, from 2019 to 2025, the fund allocated approximately $7.4 million to conservation projects. The new program will run for another five years.
One of the region’s most prominent conservation initiatives focuses on the snow leopard. In April 2025, Kyrgyzstan established the Ak Ilbirs ecological corridor, covering more than 792,000 hectares. It connects Khan-Tengri Nature Park, the Sarychat-Ertash Nature Reserve, and the Naryn Nature Reserve, helping maintain connections between habitats used by rare wildlife. The Times of Central Asia previously reported on the project.
Sergey Kwan