World Bank and Global Environment Facility support ecosystem development in the Tien Shan region

The World Bank’s Board approved a US$ 3.35 million Global Environment Facility Grant to the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic (for US$ 2.35 million and US$ 1 million respectively) to support management of protected areas and sustainable ecosystem development of the Tien Shan region of the two countries.

The Tien Shan mountain range covers most of the Kyrgyz Republic, southern Kazakhstan, and smaller areas of Uzbekistan, China, and Tajikistan. This territory plays an important role in conserving biodiversity and maintaining environmental sustainability in Central Asia. In 2004, Conservation International identified the Tien Shan range as a “biodiversity hotspot” based on the high numbers of endemic species and the significant level of threat—the concentration of species in Western Tien Shan is 63 times higher for birds and 37 times higher for mammals than the average for Central Asia.

For more information:
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:22377784~menuPK:51062075~pagePK:34370~piPK:34424~theSitePK:4607,00.html