Astrid Schomaker Highly Praises Kazakhstan’s Efforts to Preserve Biodiversity

At a press conference held as part of the Regional Ecological Summit 2026, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity Ms. Astrid Schomaker highly praised Kazakhstan’s work on the restoration and conservation of biodiversity. The expert emphasized that the country is taking active measures in this area not only within the framework of the Convention, but also beyond it.

The press conference, dedicated to the first global review of collective progress in implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), was also attended by Deputy Minister of Environment of the Republic of Armenia Ara Mkrtchyan.

The speakers stressed that the current stage of implementing the framework requires accelerating collective efforts, strengthening international cooperation, and more actively integrating national biodiversity conservation strategies.

In particular, Astrid Schomaker noted that out of 8 million species of animals and plants, around 1 million are under threat of extinction, and many of them could disappear in the coming decades.

The loss of biodiversity undermines ecosystem services on which food security, health, and the economy of millions of people depend.

Ms. Schomaker highly appreciated Kazakhstan’s efforts to restore biodiversity, particularly in terms of restoring the ecosystems of the North Aral Sea, as well as the reintroduction of the Turanian tiger and Przewalski’s horse.

“We see that Kazakhstan is making significant efforts in the field of biodiversity, especially in integrating this issue into a broader economic context and transitioning from simple conservation to its systematic accounting. Kazakhstan has submitted its National Report to the Convention. I would like to note that Kazakhstan is working very actively not only within one Convention, but across several international mechanisms. Overall, I can say that the work is progressing well. Very positive changes are taking place in the Republic of Kazakhstan in the field of environmental protection. All the efforts being undertaken deserve high praise,” the speaker emphasized.

Deputy Minister of Environment of the Republic of Armenia Ara Mkrtchyan drew special attention to the upcoming key event — the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the Convention on Biological Diversity, which will take place in Yerevan from October 19 to 30, 2026.

The conference will be held under the slogan “Taking Action for Nature” and will serve as an important platform for conducting the first global review of the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Framework, assessing progress achieved by participating countries, strengthening national strategies and plans, and mobilizing international efforts for biodiversity conservation.

It was noted that hosting COP underscores the region’s importance in the global ecological agenda and opens new opportunities for expanding international dialogue and cooperation.

Following the press conference, participants expressed confidence that the upcoming conference will be an important step toward achieving global biodiversity conservation goals and ensuring a sustainable future.