On May 22, the Agriculture Ministry published a draft decree on the Open Legal Acts platform on establishing a public nature reserve aiming to preserve Caspian seals in the Kazakh waters of the Caspian Sea, QazMonitor reports.
Location and funding: The planned reserve, named the State Nature Reserve for the Preservation of the Caspian Seal Population, will be located in the Atyrau and Mangystau regions, covering a total area of 109,558.04 hectares, with 69,839.62 hectares designated specifically for the reserve proper.
The document outlines that a state institution of the same name will manage the reserve.
The Fishery Committee has been tasked with establishing the boundaries both on the map and on-site.
The institution will be financed from the republican budget, using funds allocated to maintain specially protected natural areas.
The document is open for public discussion until June 5.
Why it matters: Endemic of the Caspian Sea, this species is included in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. These seals exhibit seasonal habitat variability and require ice cover for breeding, which only forms in the Kazakh and Russian sectors of the North Caspian Sea. The Kazakh part of the Caspian Sea plays a crucial role in the conservation of this species.