Project of the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF)

Ecosystem Profile
Mountains of Central Asia Biodiversity Hotspot
The Mountains of Central Asia are a biodiversity hotspot but the region must first be considered from a political and cultural perspective. Within the region, “Central Asia” is typically understood to mean the whole of five republics: Kazakhstan; Kyrgyzstan; Tajikistan; Turkmenistan; and Uzbekistan.

In the past, from the perspective of Central Asia, China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and Afghanistan were “hinterland,” far from the main economic centers and transport hubs. Today, however, with massive investments in trade and infrastructure, and with greater movement of people and knowledge, it makes increasing sense to understand the region in terms of at least parts of seven countries.

Read more ⟶

Schedule of the upcoming events
Contribution to the 2025 International Day for Biodiversity and the Consultative Meeting on the Update of the Ecosystem Profile “Mountains of Central Asia”
22 May 2025, 09.00-16.00
Uzbekistan, Tashkent
⚲ Ground Zero Kitob Olami

09:00
Part 1: International Day for Biodiversity and contributions from different stakeholders

11:00
Part 2: Participation of civil society organizations in biodiversity conservation and the CEPF 2.0 small grants program

14:00
Part 3: Needs and prospects for developing the capacity of civil society organizations and the participation of youth, educational and scientific institutions in the study and protection of wildlife

Download the full program
Biological importance of the hotspot
Geography, Climate, and History
The Mountains of Central Asia hotspot consists of two of Asia’s major mountain ranges, the Pamir and the Tien Shan.
Habitats and Ecosystems
The predominant vegetation types in the hotspot are desert, semi-desert, and steppe on all the lower slopes and foothills and in some of the outlying ranges and major basins.
Species Diversity and Endemism
The hotspot harbors significant numbers of wild crop relatives and around 5,000 species of vascular plants, almost one quarter of which are endemic.
Ecosystem Services
The hotspot provides an astonishing array of ecosystem goods and services that are essential for the sustainable development of the whole region.
Conservation outcomes
  • Species Outcomes
    Species outcomes comprise those species that regularly occur in the hotspot and are classified as globally threatened.

    Read more ⟶
  • Corridor Outcomes
    Each member of our team has at least 5 years of legal experience. They use their knowledge to make our clients' lives better.

    Read more ⟶
  • Site Outcomes – Key Biodiversity Areas
    Our managers are always ready to answer your questions. You can call us at the weekends and at night. You can also visit our office for a personal consultation.

    Read more ⟶
  • Recommendations for Improving the Outcomes Analysis
    Our company works according to the principle of individual approach to every client. This method allows us to achieve success in problems of all levels.

    Read more ⟶
  • Socioeconomic context of the hotspot
    The hotspot is a fragmented and sensitive region politically and socio-economically, but all the countries share deep cultural links laying on the Silk Route.

    Read more ⟶
  • Policy context of the hotspot
    Policy and legislation among each of the countries is robust and clear, but implementation is conducted by a diverse array of government agencies that may not be coordinated or motivated.

    Read more ⟶
  • Civil society context of the hotspot
    The trend in the region is one of greater government control over CSOs, particularly since a high point of civil society engagement following the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

    Read more ⟶
  • Threats to biodiversity in the hotspot
    Key threats and their root causes, as well as barriers to effective conservation within the hotspot boundary were identified through the various workshops held as part of the process.

    Read more ⟶
Climate change assessment
National and regional climate projections expect increases in temperatures and precipitation across the hotspot and as much as a fifty percent loss in glacial cover by mid-century. Glaciers ensure continuous waterflow for these water-deficit countries. The climate effects on water regimes are highly variable. As glaciers retreat and snow cover patterns change, the hydrological changes in small and medium rivers in the high mountains are becoming noticeable.

Read more ⟶
Assessment of current
conservation investments
Consultations with stakeholders suggest, across all sources of domestic, international, and private funding, that between $20 million and $30 million per year is allocated to biodiversity conservation and related topics.

Read more ⟶
CEPF niche for investment
  • Investment niche of the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) for the hotspot is defined by the KBA methodology, with prioritization of KBAs that are in trans-border areas, those that allow for resilience to climate change, and those that allow for linkages across productive landscapes.

    Read more ⟶
CEPF investment strategy
Priority Species
National consultations and the processing of the stakeholder questionnaires provided the basis for prioritization of the species outcomes.
Priority Sites
The initial prioritization of sites was undertaken by participants at the national and regional consultations, who proposed 90 KBAs (out of the 167 confirmed and candidate KBAs) as priorities for CEPF investment.
Priority Corridors
As similar approach was used to prioritize conservation corridors as was used for prioritizing KBAs. An initial list of more than 10 (out of 25) conservation corridors was suggested by participants at the national and regional consultations.
CEPF Strategic Directions and Investment Priorities
Address threats to priority species
Overexploitation can devastate a species even when its habitat is protected. Species with reduced populations are at increased risk of disease, less resilient to habitat disturbance, and less able to compete with invasives.

Read more ⟶
Improve management of priority sites with and without official protection status
Protected areas are a critical part of the overall effort for the conservation of KBAs, and are likely to become more so as pressure from land-use change increasingly affects them.

Read more ⟶
Support sustainable management and biodiversity conservation within priority corridors
A defining feature of this hotspot is its large, uninhabited landscapes across which roam iconic ungulates and carnivores. The hotspot is also home to wild relatives of cultivated fruit and nut trees, including apple, pear, walnut, apricot, and pistachio.

Read more ⟶
Engage communities of interest and economic sectors, including the private sector, in improved management of production landscapes
KBAs are defined spatial units that can be managed for biodiversity conservation. KBAs can be either formally protected or not.

Read more ⟶
Enhance civil society capacity for effective conservation action
The profiling process identified a need among CSOs in the hotspot for strengthened management, fundraising ability, and technical skills, and also noted that they often lack the knowledge and experience to tackle some of the most important threats to the biodiversity in the hotspot.

Read more ⟶
Provide strategic leadership and effective coordination of conservation investment through a RIT
CEPF Regional Implementation Teams (RIT) support comprehensive, vertically integrated portfolios such as large anchor projects, smaller grassroots activities, policy initiatives, governmental collaboration and sustainable financing.

Read more ⟶
Ecosystem Profile 2017
Download the latest version of Mountains of Central Asia Biodiversity Hotspot Ecosystem Profile.
Download