Tashkent, Uzbekistan, 24-26 June 2025 - the Third Meeting of the Range States of the Central Asian Mammals Initiative (CAMI) under the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) was held. The Central Asian Mammals Initiative was established in 2014 at the 11th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CMS to provide a strategic framework for the conservation of CMS-listed mammals and their habitats across the broader Central Asian region.
The Tashkent meeting brought together representatives from CAMI range states — Bhutan, India, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan — along with international organizations, partners, and the CMS Secretariat. The Turkmenistan delegation included representatives from the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the National Institute of Deserts, Flora and Fauna, and experts from the Conservation X Labs project.
Participants of CAMI. Photocredit to organanizers of the event.
Since its inception, the CAMI Programme of Work (POW) has been updated every six years. At the Third Range States Meeting, the CMS Secretariat presented a report on the implementation of the previous CAMI POW (2019–2025), and a new CAMI Programme of Work for 2026-2032 was developed.
Of the 15 CAMI-listed mammal species, the following are found in Turkmenistan: urial, goitered gazelle, kulan, Bukhara deer, Persian leopard, Pallas’s cat, and the Eurasian lynx (the latter two species were proposed for inclusion in the CAMI list at the 14th Meeting of the CMS Conference of the Parties in 2024). In addition to the CAMI POW, Turkmenistan is also engaged in implementing species-specific work plans, including those for the Bukhara deer, kulan, saiga antelope, and Persian leopard.
In the 2026-2032 CAMI POW, the CMS Secretariat proposed an approach based on Transboundary Priority Conservation Landscapes (TPCLs) — ecologically significant areas for the conservation of CAMI species. For Turkmenistan, three TPCLs were identified: Western and Southern Ustyurt, Kopetdag, and Koytendag/Kugitang.
Participants of CAMI. Photocredit to organizers of the event.
For the Western and Southern Ustyurt TPCL (shared with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan), several joint actions were proposed, including activities on the Ustyurt Plateau, which is currently not part of Turkmenistan’s protected areas network. In 2024, Turkmenistan signed a Memorandum of Cooperation on Wildlife Conservation in the Ustyurt Plateau with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and the implementation of its Roadmap has become a priority. As part of the National Forest Programme, Turkmenistan plans to establish a new State Nature Reserve on the Balkan Mountain Range, including a cluster on the Ustyurt Plateau/Garabogazgol, aimed at conserving urial, goitered gazelle, bezoar goat, Persian leopard, Pallas’s cat, and other nationally protected species.
Since 2023, under the transboundary Conservation X Labs project “Key Corridors for Cats in Central Asia”, activities have been carried out to monitor and protect the Persian leopard in Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. The Persian leopard is a keystone species for the health of ecosystems in Turkmenistan and across the region. Confirmed sightings of leopards in Kopetdag, Badkhyz, and Syunt-Hasardag State Nature Reserves, as well as in the Balkan Mountains, Garabogazgol, and Ustyurt Plateau, confirm Turkmenistan’s importance as part of a regional leopard migration corridor, parts of which are under threat from climate change.
The saiga antelope, another CAMI-listed and nationally protected species, historically migrated into Turkmenistan during the harsh winter season. However, population declines in Kazakhstan and the installation of engineering and technical barriers along Turkmenistan’s northern border have now limited these migrations. This calls for the implementation of long-term monitoring programmes to track population trends, migration routes, and disease outbreaks among wild mammals. These efforts enhance understanding of landscape connectivity and the negative impacts of infrastructure — including roads and border fencing — on wildlife movement.
Transboundary data exchange and coordinated scientific research are being carried out by Turkmen specialists in partnership with Kazakhstan (on Persian leopard conservation) and Uzbekistan (on kulan, goitered gazelle, and urial).
For the Kopetdag TPCL (shared with Iran), which is important for the conservation of the Persian leopard, kulan, urial, goitered gazelle, and Pallas’s cat, a series of conservation and monitoring measures was outlined. In Turkmenistan, rangers from Kopetdag, Syunt-Hasardag, and Badkhyz State Nature Reserves, as well as from the Balkan Province Environmental Protection Directorate, use camera traps and SMART monitoring tools to track wildlife and improve patrol efforts. New measures such as Foxlights (predator deterrent devices) are being introduced to help reduce human-leopard conflict. An official Working Group on the Persian Leopard — a branch of the IUCN SSC Cat Specialist Group — has also been established, with its own website and platform for sharing updates and conservation results across the region.
Persian leopard. Photocredit to group Team Bars.
For the Koytendag/Kugitang TPCL (shared with Uzbekistan), which is critical for the conservation of urial and Eurasian lynx, the meeting identified further monitoring actions, including continued SMART patrolling in the Koytendag (Turkmenistan) and Surkhan (Uzbekistan) reserves. Work is also ongoing to prepare a joint transboundary World Heritage nomination dossier for “The Kugitang Mountain Ecosystem.”
The 2026-2032 CAMI Programme of Work recommends working with relevant national agencies to identify corridors and barriers that affect landscape connectivity — such as roads and infrastructure — and their impact on wildlife, and to develop mitigation measures, including strategies to safeguard migratory routes.
Range States will be required to integrate the updated CAMI POW into national policies, including biodiversity strategies, environmental laws, land-use planning, and infrastructure development, and to ensure cross-sectoral consultation for effective implementation. At the Third Range States Meeting, Uzbekistan was elected as the new Chair, with Turkmenistan selected as Vice-Chair for the next intersessional period.
Prepared by: Ms. Sh. Karryeva, Technical Advisor, Conservation X Labs
The event supports the achievement of:
| Priority Area of REP4SD No 5 dedicated to SDG 15: “Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems” |
| 5.2.2 strengthening scientific cooperation on restoration of rare and endangered plant and animal species, taking joint measures for their protection; |
| 5.2.3 development of ecological corridors for migratory species of animals and birds, transboundary cooperation on protection of key habitats, including protected areas; |
| 5.2.8 combating poaching in the border territories of the Central Asian countries. |