Protecting Biodiversity along the Central Asian Flyway  – Workshop in Bishkek

The Central Asian Flyway of migratory birds encompasses 26 so-called “range states” from Russia to India, from the Near East to China. Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF) Korea as part of the global climate and environment network GMACC supports the emerging Initiative for the Central Asian Flyway, which has been decided by the Convention on Migratory Species in their conference in Sarmakand, Uzbekistan, in 2024. As part of their support for transboundary NGO cooperation,  together with Fond Priroda and the Central Asian Conservation Network, a network of NGO in Central Asian states, organized a workshop on April 8, 2025, in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

The conference opened with remarks by Jeremie Berlioux, Director of the Nature Foundation, Kyrgyzstan, who welcomed more than 30 participants offline and more than 40 participants online to the seminar, coming from dozens of countries of Central Asia and beyond. Dr. Bernhard Seliger of  Korea in his welcoming speech reported on the recent EU Central Asia Climate Summit and Forum in Sarmakand, Uzbekistan, where environmental ministers of many Central Asian states (Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Mongolia and Turkmenistan) vowed to cooperate to protect the environment, promote afforestation, protect wetlands and biodiversity. Talant Turdumatov, Deputy Director of the Department of Biodiversity and Specially Protected Areas, in the Ministry of Natural Resources, Ecology and Technical Supervision, stressed the importance of protected areas and the membership in international conventions like the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands for Kyrgyzstan. Finally, the two co-chairs of the newly created Central Asian Conservation Network, Khurshed Alimov of Tajikistan and Katherine Hall of Kyrgyzstan, welcomed the guests. In particular, the fact that Khurshed Alimov could travel without problems from Tajikistan to Kyrgyzstan, while recently still there were political tensions between both countries and the border had been closed, was encouraging to the aim of collaboration.

The first session of the conference, chaired by Dr. Bernhard Seliger of  Korea, focused on vultures along the Central Asian Flyway and threats to their conservation. Raptors are an integral part of the conservation of the Central Asian Flyway (while other flyways only or mainly focus on waterbirds). They are, among others, threatened by veterinary medicine harmful to their health (poisoning), hunting and habitat destruction. Veronika Asanalieva and Jeremie Berlioux of Kyrgyzstan reported on research on the use of NSAID (veterinary medicine) on vultures in Kyrgyzstan. In particular, the use and disposal of cheap medicines in illegal ways and the disregard for veterinary health in slaughterhouses contribute to poisoning of vultures like the endangered Egyptian vulture. Genriyetta Pulikova, Ornithologist at the Biodiversity Research and Network Centre of Kazakhstan, talked about the situation in vultures in Kazakhstan, detailing breeding areas, and areas of threat to them. Finally, Vladimir Dobrev of the Central Asian Vulture Project of the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds reported on his projects using satellite tags on vultures. Afterwards, a lively discussion ensued.

The second session dealt with so-called “Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures” (OECM) for conservation in the Central Asian Flyway. OECM are measures other than a traditional protected area (like a biosphere reserve or a national park) to protect important biodiversity areas. OECM have recently gained massive attention, since they fill gaps for protection beyond the traditional protected areas, which often cannot easily be extended, leaving important areas free from protection. This session, which was chaired by Dr. Hyun-Ah Choi of  Korea, started with a presentation by Marina Koshkina of the Association of Biodiversity in Kazakhstan, on opportunities to develop OECM in Kazakhstan. The second session discussed the integration of the OECM concept into Kyrgyzstan´s National Biodiversity Strategy and presented results of bird conservation focus group discussions. Finally, Jeremie Berlioux, Director of the Nature Foundation in Kyrgyzstan, considered an OECM in Bishkek´s Ozornoe lakes for bird conservation. Again, a lively discussion followed, which also showed some differences of views of NGO and governmental policies.

After the lunch, the third session focused on Conservation priorities for the Central Asian Flyway. Dr. Taej Mundkur, Senior Advisor of Wetlands International, presented results of the Central Asian Flyway Situational Analysis and priorities for action. The analysis had been finalized for the CMS COP in 2024 in Uzbekistan in preparation of the decision to establish more formal cooperation along the Central Asian Flyway. A number of key species in the flyway suffer from decreasing numbers, often due to illegal taking and killing (like hunting or selling birds as pets) and also due to habitat destruction. Katherine Hall of the new Central Asian Conservation Network presented the network as an opportunity to easier cooperate among NGO in the Central Asian Flyway, and – here more narrowly defined – Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan plus further countries like Mongolia. Finally, Khurshed Alimov, also co-chair of the Central Asian Conservation Network, discussed conservation priorities within the CAF based on a survey, his network did among stakeholders, particularly NGO, in the region.

The fourth session, again chaired by Dr. Hyun-Ah Choi, had two online presentations by an international NGO working on bird conservation in the Central Asian Flyway. Anand Chaudhary of Birdlife International detailed the efforts of Birdlife´s Central Asian Flyway Initiative to map key sites along the Central Asian Flyway. Wali Modaqiq, Central Asia coordinator of the International Crane Foundation, spoke about cranes on the Central Asian Flyway. These, like the Demoiselle Crane, still in decent numbers, but rapidly declining, had in the past not been in the focus of the International Crane Foundation, but now the ICF is interested in restoring and securing viable populations of cranes in Central Asia and the Middle East and hopes for international cooperation to this end.

The fifth and last session of the conference, co-moderated by Katherine Hall of CACN and Jeremie Berlioux of the Nature Foundation, was an open discussion of cooperation possibilities in the Central Asian Flyway. Among potential ideas, there was the development of key sites (based on the Birdlife research on key sites), cooperation with the International Crane Foundation on the protection of the Demoiselle Crane, a key species in the flyway, joint research on Central Asian vultures, and the creation of a publication focusing on the Central Asian Flyway to help spreading information and best practices in the Central Asian flyway. A better monitoring of key species in the Central Asian Flyway – for example, during the Asian Waterbird Census in winter, but also in breeding sites, would also be helpful, as Dr. Taej Mundkur from Wetland International added.

In his concluding remarks, Dr. Bernhard Seliger of summarized the very lively discussion, with online and offline participants staying very engaged throughout the long day, and then pointed to the promise of the Indian government, that the coordination office for the Central Asian Flyway would be opened before the next COP (Conference of Parties) of the Convention on Migratory Species in March 2026 in Brazil. Also, he invited participants to continue cooperation, in particular also to contribute to the upcoming conference organized by  with partners in Almaty, Kazakhstan, in autumn 2025.