- Central Asia’s fragile ecosystems, home to species like snow leopards and saiga antelopes, face growing threats from habitat loss, climate change and hunting, yet conservation remains critically underfunded.
- But financing mechanisms like payment for ecosystem services, ecotourism and even carbon markets could provide much-needed investment, though these require careful regulation and local adaptation.
- Public-private partnerships, standardized biodiversity metrics, and community-led conservation efforts are essential to attract funding, ensure accountability, and secure long-term ecological and economic benefits.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily Mongabay.
Central Asia hosts some of the world’s largest and still relatively interconnected yet fragile grassland and mountain ecosystems. These landscapes provide essential habitats for migratory and threatened species, including the snow leopard, saiga antelope, argali sheep, Mongolian gazelle and wild ass. While these species are essential for maintaining ecological balance, they face growing threats from habitat fragmentation, climate change, and poaching. Despite their ecological significance, conservation efforts in the region remain severely underfunded, hindered by high financial risks and a lack of investment-ready opportunities.
The 2025 edition of U.N. World Wildlife Day (March 3, 2025, themed Wildlife Conservation Finance: Investing in People and the Planet) rings the alarm bell: financial solutions to support conservation efforts in regions like Central Asia are urgently needed. As part of these efforts, the Central Asian Mammals Initiative (CAMI), under the Convention on Migratory Species, provides a strategic framework to safeguard migratory wildlife across the region’s arid steppes and mountains. However, without effective financing mechanisms and stronger international collaboration, conservation efforts will struggle to keep pace with mounting threats.
New financing solutions needed
Conservation finance in Central Asia faces inadequate funding levels, high perceived risks, and limited data on biodiversity projects. The complexity of conservation initiatives, coupled with the long-term nature of economic returns, often deters potential investors. While new financing mechanisms have succeeded elsewhere in the world, their potential in Central Asia remains largely untapped. Adapting and implementing these approaches could unlock sustaining investment flows, providing the necessary resources to protect these ecosystems.
To bridge the financial gap, a range of mechanisms can be employed. Nature-based solutions (NbS), for instance, offer a promising approach by integrating conservation with sustainable development. These solutions involve actions that protect, sustainably manage, and restore natural ecosystems, providing both biodiversity and human well-being benefits. For example, payment for ecosystem services (PES) schemes have proved effective in certain contexts, such as halting deforestation in Costa Rica, by incentivizing landowners and communities to engage in conservation activities and providing financial rewards for maintaining ecosystem services like watershed protection or carbon storage. However, they can also come with particular caveats and weaknesses, and thus must be carefully designed to address local economic conditions and governance challenges.
Another potential avenue is the development of carbon markets, which could provide financial incentives for protecting Central Asia’s vast grasslands by assigning economic value to their carbon storage capacity. Not only could they help mitigate climate change, but they could also direct essential funds towards preserving habitats crucial for migratory species. However, past cases of fraud and mismanagement in carbon offset projects highlight the need for strong regulatory oversight and transparency to ensure their effectiveness.
Sustainable tourism, particularly ecotourism, is another mechanism that has successfully linked economic growth with conservation in regions like Madagascar. Investing in responsible tourism infrastructure in Central Asia could generate employment while raising awareness about the region’s unique wildlife. Successful examples already exist in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, where local communities organize wildlife watching tours and manage these areas for both conservation and tourism purposes. These initiatives not only enhance local livelihoods but also promote the conservation of species like saiga antelope and snow leopard by involving communities directly in tourism activities. In certain cases, regulated trophy hunting, such as for argali sheep, has also provided a controlled source of funding for biodiversity conservation, though its application is limited to specific species and requires strict management to ensure sustainability.
Aligning financial incentives with conservation outcomes is essential for attracting investment. Biodiversity conservation presents significant economic opportunities, including job creation and sustainable development. By integrating biodiversity metrics into investment decision-making processes, investors can better assess the long-term value of conservation projects. This approach not only enhances the financial viability of biodiversity investments but also ensures that conservation goals are met.
To achieve this alignment, it is imperative to develop standardized metrics and reporting frameworks for biodiversity projects. These tools can help investors evaluate the environmental and social impacts of their investments, fostering transparency and accountability. Regulatory frameworks that mandate biodiversity disclosures can further incentivize private sector engagement in conservation finance.
Role of stakeholders and international cooperation
Public-private partnerships are essential to mobilizing financial resources for conservation. Collaboration between governments, NGOs and private investors can pool expertise and funding to scale conservation efforts more effectively. Equally important is transboundary cooperation, as many of Central Asia’s migratory species cross national borders. A coordinated regional approach ensures that conservation efforts are not fragmented but instead address entire ecosystems.
Engaging local communities and stakeholders is critical to the success of conservation financing. By involving communities in decision-making and project implementation, conservation efforts can be more effectively tailored to local needs and contexts. Community-led initiatives have demonstrated success in attracting funding and support, as they often incorporate traditional knowledge and practices that enhance conservation outcomes.
Building capacity within local communities is also essential. Providing training and resources can empower communities to manage and benefit from conservation projects, fostering a sense of ownership and responsibility. Additionally, ensuring that conservation projects provide tangible benefits, such as alternative livelihoods and improved infrastructure, can enhance community support and participation.
In conclusion, broadening the scope of financing solutions in Central Asia is not just about widening the toolbox for biodiversity conservation in the region, it is a necessity for securing the future of its migratory mammals and their habitats. To move forward effectively, three important next steps must be prioritized:
- Strengthening public-private partnerships: Building robust collaborations between governments, NGOs and private investors is essential to pool resources and expertise, enabling the scaling of new and innovative financing solutions.
- Developing standardized metrics and reporting frameworks: Establishing clear and consistent metrics for biodiversity projects will help attract investments by providing transparency and accountability, ensuring that conservation outcomes are effectively measured and communicated.
- Enhancing community engagement and capacity building: Empowering local communities through training and resources will foster a sense of ownership and responsibility, ensuring that conservation projects are sustainable and aligned with local needs.
By bridging the gap between finance and conservation, we can create lasting benefits for both people and wildlife. As World Wildlife Day highlights the urgency of these efforts, it is imperative for policymakers, investors and conservationists to collaborate and harness these financing solutions, ensuring a brighter future for Central Asia’s unique ecosystems and the species that depend on them.
Johannes Stahl is senior manager in the field of biodiversity at adelphi and has more than 15 years of experience working in areas linked to biodiversity conservation, international wildlife trade and sustainable development. Anne Neumann works as a manager in the field of green finance, advising European commercial and development banks and financial institutions on the implementation of sustainable finance products. Christiane Röttger is senior manager of biodiversity at adelphi and has more than 10 years of experience in biodiversity conservation and global environmental governance.
Banner image: Wild male saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica) visiting a waterhole at the Stepnoi Sanctuary, Astrakhan Oblast, Russia. Photo credit: Andrey Giljov via the Creative Commons 4.0 CC BY-SA 4.0.
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