12 July 2013 | 18:51

Katon-Karagay Park in Kazakhstan may become part of UNESCO reserves network

Photo courtesy of katon-karagay.vko.gov.kz

The Ministry of Environmental Protection of Kazakhstan is going to suggest including the Katon-Karagay National Park into the UNESCO list of world heritage sites, Tengrinews.kz reports citing Kazakhstan Minister of Environment Protection Nurlan Kapparov as saying at the conference on problems of the transborder basin of the Ural River and its possible solutions. “An inter-government agreement on the specially protected transborder territory of the Katon-Karagay National Park in Kazakhstan and Katun Nature Reserve in Russia was signed in 2011 in Astrakhan, Russia. We are working on an application to submit the Katon-Karagay Park for inclusion into the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves. Next, we intend to create a transborder biosphere reserve there,” Kapparov said. The Minister also said that Environment Protection Ministries of the two counties were continuing the work on building the crossborder biosphere reserve at the near-border territories in fulfillment of the existing agreement between Presidents of Kazakhstan and Russia. To facilitated development of the near-border areas heads of Russian Tigirek and Katun Nature Reserves and Kazakhstan's Katon-Karagay National Park and West Altai Nature Reserve of Kazakhstan signed a memorandum on Eco-tourism development in the border regions in September, 2010. The UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves currently counts 621 biosphere reserves in 117 countries all over the world. By Baubek Konyrov

The Ministry of Environmental Protection of Kazakhstan is going to suggest including the Katon-Karagay National Park into the UNESCO list of world heritage sites, Tengrinews.kz reports citing Kazakhstan Minister of Environment Protection Nurlan Kapparov as saying at the conference on problems of the transborder basin of the Ural River and its possible solutions. “An inter-government agreement on the specially protected transborder territory of the Katon-Karagay National Park in Kazakhstan and Katun Nature Reserve in Russia was signed in 2011 in Astrakhan, Russia. We are working on an application to submit the Katon-Karagay Park for inclusion into the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves. Next, we intend to create a transborder biosphere reserve there,” Kapparov said. The Minister also said that Environment Protection Ministries of the two counties were continuing the work on building the crossborder biosphere reserve at the near-border territories in fulfillment of the existing agreement between Presidents of Kazakhstan and Russia. To facilitated development of the near-border areas heads of Russian Tigirek and Katun Nature Reserves and Kazakhstan's Katon-Karagay National Park and West Altai Nature Reserve of Kazakhstan signed a memorandum on Eco-tourism development in the border regions in September, 2010. The UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves currently counts 621 biosphere reserves in 117 countries all over the world. By Baubek Konyrov

UNESCO protection news National Park Kazakhstan Kazakh environment