• KZT/USD = 0.00211
  • TJS/USD = 0.10810
  • UZS/USD = 0.00008
  • TMT/USD = 0.29760
  • KZT/USD = 0.00211
  • TJS/USD = 0.10810
  • UZS/USD = 0.00008
  • TMT/USD = 0.29760
  • KZT/USD = 0.00211
  • TJS/USD = 0.10810
  • UZS/USD = 0.00008
  • TMT/USD = 0.29760
  • KZT/USD = 0.00211
  • TJS/USD = 0.10810
  • UZS/USD = 0.00008
  • TMT/USD = 0.29760
  • KZT/USD = 0.00211
  • TJS/USD = 0.10810
  • UZS/USD = 0.00008
  • TMT/USD = 0.29760
  • KZT/USD = 0.00211
  • TJS/USD = 0.10810
  • UZS/USD = 0.00008
  • TMT/USD = 0.29760
  • KZT/USD = 0.00211
  • TJS/USD = 0.10810
  • UZS/USD = 0.00008
  • TMT/USD = 0.29760
  • KZT/USD = 0.00211
  • TJS/USD = 0.10810
  • UZS/USD = 0.00008
  • TMT/USD = 0.29760
02 August 2026

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Tajikistan Debuts Air Quality Website After Criticizing IQAir Report

Tajikistan has launched a website that monitors air quality in several cities around the country, whose capital, Dushanbe, has experienced severe pollution over the years because of vehicle emissions, fuel burning and other factors. The initiative follows objections from Tajik authorities to an international assessment that Tajikistan is among the most polluted countries in the world. The new website - https://airquality.meteo.tj – provides detailed information in Tajik, Russian and English, according to the meteorological office of the State Committee for Environmental Protection. It said on Monday that the data is based on six monitoring devices that have been installed in Dushanbe as well as one each in the cities of Kulyab, Vahdat, and Hisor. “This portal is the only source where the accuracy of air quality assessments in the Republic of Tajikistan is determined using global models,” the meteorological agency said. At around 9 p.m. on Monday, the portal reported that the air quality index at eight of the monitored locations was between 12 and 33, falling into the “good” range. The air quality index in the city of Kulyab was in the “moderate” range at 68, meaning the air is generally acceptable although there could be a risk for some people. However, IQAir, an air quality monitoring platform that is run by a Swiss company, reported slightly different results at the same hour. It said the air quality index in Tajikistan’s capital was 50, which also qualifies as “good” but is just short of the “moderate” 51-100 range. The Dushanbe rating for most of the day had been moderate. The Swiss company said its data for Dushanbe came from several contributors with air quality sensors, including the U.S. embassy and the European Union delegation. IQAir had said in a global report that Tajikistan was the third most polluted country in the world in 2025, based on annual average PM2.5 concentration, a measure of microscopic particles in the air. IQAir, which has worked on projects with the United Nations environmental agency, gathers data on pollution from governments, NGOs, and individuals. Tajikistan had objected to that report, saying it was not “completely” comprehensive. “It should be noted that in such rankings, a country’s indicators are often derived from a limited number of measurement points, especially those installed in areas affected by urban emissions and dust transport,” Tajikistan’s meteorological agency had said. “This means that drawing nationwide conclusions solely from a relatively small number of air-quality stations is methodologically incomplete.” Pollution in Dushanbe tends to be worse in the winter months because of heating, coal burning, and power plant emissions. However, the city lies in a valley. It is sometimes subject to summer pollution spikes when strong winds sometimes blow in dust and sand from local areas as well as neighboring countries, including Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.

3 weeks ago

Tajikistan Lithium Project Planned at Namadgut Deposit

Tajikistan plans to launch a lithium mining project at the Namadgut deposit in the Ishkashim district of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region within the next year, according to Minister of Industry and New Technologies Sherali Kabir. Around 80% of the equipment required for the project has already been delivered to Tajikistan, while substantial geological exploration has been carried out at the deposit. That said, the government has not disclosed the size or grade of its lithium reserves, nor the project’s expected output or cost. The Namadgut deposit also contains niobium, tantalum, and beryllium, in addition to lithium, according to Kabir. Niobium is mainly used to strengthen steel and in heat-resistant alloys for aircraft engines and other high-temperature equipment. Tantalum is used in compact electronic capacitors, including those found in phones and computers, as well as in aircraft-engine alloys. Beryllium is used in lightweight, high-strength components for the aerospace, electronics, and nuclear industries. Although global lithium prices recovered from their 2025 lows during early 2026, they remain around 70% below their 2022 peak. Kabir acknowledged that this fall in prices but argued that the presence of other valuable metals, whose prices may be more stable, could improve the project’s commercial prospects. The minister also believes that developing Tajikistan’s lithium industry could help attract major international companies involved in electric vehicle and battery production. “An electric vehicle requires aluminum for the body, copper for the wiring, and lithium batteries as a key component. We have these resources,” Kabir said. According to the minister, the development of lithium production could create opportunities for Tajikistan to establish higher value-added industries rather than limiting itself to raw-material exports. The Namadgut project forms part of a broader effort to develop Tajikistan’s critical-minerals sector. In 2024, officials reported the discovery of 15 new deposits of rare metals, including lithium, according to Mukhtor Fozilzoda, head of the geology department at Tajikistan’s Main Directorate of Geology. The deposits were identified in remote eastern areas, including Karasu, Agbasoy, Payron, and Rokhshif. Despite difficult terrain and harsh natural conditions, officials say advances in exploration technology have made it possible to study these regions more effectively. Fozilzoda said the discoveries could support the expansion of the mining industry, create jobs, and provide raw materials for battery manufacturing and other high-technology sectors. Kabir previously said Tajikistan intended to become the first country in the Commonwealth of Independent States to establish lithium production. According to the minister, Tajikistan possesses reserves of 10 of the 12 metals considered critical for the global green transition, with six already being produced domestically. Critical minerals are essential for renewable-energy technologies, including solar and wind power systems, electric vehicles, and battery storage. Kabir added that during the Soviet period, only three enterprises produced what he described as rare-earth metals, two of which were located in Tajikistan. Public accounts more clearly document Tajikistan’s Soviet-era role in uranium and broader rare-metal processing, particularly at the Leninabad Mining and Chemical Combine, now known as Vostokredmet. The government is now negotiating with international companies on...

3 weeks ago

Kazakhstan Agricultural Exports Rise 36% in Early 2026

Kazakhstan’s agricultural exports rose sharply during the first four months of 2026, although the government’s full-year target points to much slower growth over the remainder of the year. Exports of agricultural and processed food products reached $3 billion in January-April, up 36% from $2.2 billion during the same period of 2025, according to figures presented by Agriculture Minister Aidarbek Saparov. The government expects the total to reach $7.2 billion by the end of 2026. More than half of last year’s export earnings, or $3.6 billion, came from processed agricultural products rather than raw commodities. The ministry aims to strengthen that trend by increasing the share of higher value-added food products in total agricultural exports. Food production increased by 14.7% during the first six months of 2026. The government aims to raise processing rates for six key product groups – meat, milk, oilseeds, corn, rice, and buckwheat – from 64% in 2025 to 70% this year. The strong performance followed two years of near-record grain production. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that Kazakhstan will export a record 11 million metric tons of wheat during the 2025-26 marketing year, after shipments rose by more than 30% during its first six months. It forecasts wheat exports falling to 7.5 million metric tons in 2026-27 as production returns toward average levels after two unusually strong harvests. The figures underline the continued importance of grain to Kazakhstan’s agricultural exports, despite the government’s efforts to increase sales of processed food products. The ministry says the government’s priorities remain improving sector efficiency and increasing production of value-added agricultural goods. As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, Kazakhstan increased revenues from processed agricultural exports by more than one-third in 2025. Agricultural exports to Iran nearly doubled, rising 97% to $238.5 million, although grain accounted for $225.3 million of that total. Agricultural trade with Turkey also increased by 25% during 2025, although the figure covers both Kazakh exports and imports from Turkey.

3 weeks ago

Opinion: Kazakhstan’s Demining Expertise Could Provide Boost to Afghanistan

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Afghanistan remains one of the most heavily mined countries in the world. During the first five months of 2026 alone, 175 people were killed or injured by landmines and unexploded ordnance, with children accounting for approximately 75% of the victims. Behind these figures lies a daily reality of fear: farmers cannot safely cultivate their fields, children cannot walk to school without risk, and road construction equipment cannot reach critical transport routes. In practice, this continues to hinder the development of the entire region. Mine-contaminated land prevents the recovery of agriculture, blocks the construction of roads, complicates the return of displaced populations, and significantly increases the cost of infrastructure projects. According to the Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor, Afghanistan ranks among the world’s most heavily mined territories, alongside Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Iraq, and Ukraine.  A Barrier to Central and South Asian Integration For Kazakhstan and the other countries of Central Asia, this issue also carries  strategic significance. Without stability in Afghanistan, the implementation of Eurasian transport projects and the expansion of trade links with South Asia become increasingly difficult. Globally, humanitarian demining is no longer viewed simply as a charitable activity. Today, it represents the starting point of any major infrastructure project. Railways cannot be laid, nor can high-voltage transmission lines be built, where the ground itself remains hostile to human activity. Virtually every prospective transport corridor connecting Central Asia with ports on the Indian Ocean passes through Afghan territory, including major projects such as the development of the Trans-Afghan Corridor and the CASA-1000 project electricity project. International experience demonstrates that humanitarian demining in Cambodia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Azerbaijan created the conditions for economic recovery, the return of displaced populations, and the attraction of foreign investment. From Kazbat’s Experience to a New Humanitarian Mission Unlike most countries in the region, Kazakhstan possesses substantial practical experience in conducting mine-clearance operations. Between 2003 and 2008, Kazakhstan’s military engineering unit, Kazbat, participated in the international mission in Iraq, destroying approximately 4.5 million explosive devices. Initially, Kazakh sappers cleared residential neighborhoods and agricultural land of unexploded ordnance. Later, they expanded their operations to locating and destroying underground and above-ground weapons depots abandoned after the conflict. These operations prevented millions of rounds of ammunition from falling into the hands of terrorist organizations. The mission came at a cost. In January 2005, 29-year-old Captain Kairat Kudabayev was killed when munitions detonated during preparations for disposal, while several other Kazakh servicemen were injured. Kazakh specialists also supplied local communities with purified drinking water and provided medical assistance, demonstrating a comprehensive approach to post-conflict recovery. More than 5,000 Iraqi civilians received medical treatment, while approximately 7,000 cubic meters of drinking water were purified. The expertise Kazakhstan accumulated could now evolve into a civilian-focused mission centered on protecting civilian populations and supporting Afghanistan’s long-term economic recovery. How a New Regional Platform Could Operate Kazakhstan’s international development agency, KazAID, could serve as the national...

3 weeks ago

Opinion: Uzbekistan Census – When the Village Reappears in the City

Uzbekistan's first census in 37 years did more than revise the country's population upward. It changed the map of where pressure is accumulating. The preliminary results put the population at 39,047,321 – 810,617 above the official estimate. That alone resets a planning baseline. Schools, clinics, housing, labor forecasts, and regional budgets all depend on knowing how many people a state is governing. The deeper story lies in the distribution. The largest correction was in Tashkent Region. Its population had been estimated at roughly 3.2 million. The census put it at nearly 3.8 million, moving it from seventh to third among Uzbekistan's regions. Five regions, Namangan, Jizzakh, Kashkadarya, Surkhandarya, and Bukhara, came in below estimate. This suggests that demographic pressure is more concentrated in and around Tashkent than the planning baseline assumed. The central question is now absorption: whether the state can integrate people whom a narrowing rural economy, growing water stress, tighter access to Russia's labor market, and rising expectations are all pushing toward its cities. The Arithmetic of Absorption More than 600,000 young people enter Uzbekistan's job market each year. The administration has said that by 2030, the annual figure will reach one million. Official unemployment fell to 4.9% in the third quarter of 2025, but 760,000 people were nevertheless registered as job seekers. Moreover the International Labour Organization estimates that informal employment accounts for about 40% of the workforce. Those figures complicate the headline rate. Much of the intake is still not finding stable, formal, better-paid work. This is the arithmetic driving everything else. The gap between the number entering the labor market and the number the formal economy can absorb has not disappeared, rather it has relocated. Some of this pressure has moved abroad, while the rest remains in villages as underemployment or has shifted to regional towns. But the census shows that much of it is shifting toward Tashkent and the region around it, where jobs, construction sites, universities, and expectations are concentrated. This does not mean every young person is leaving the countryside, or that rural life is collapsing. Uzbekistan's village economy remains large and socially central. Yet it can no longer absorb pressure as it once did, while older outlets are narrowing. How Water Multiplies the Pressure Water stress is one force among several. People leave when rural livelihoods become less secure, farm income less reliable, and the city starts to look like the only route into cash, education, and mobility. The rural economy was already changing before the latest water shocks. Agriculture, forestry, and fisheries accounted for 17.3% of GDP in 2025, down from 18.5% a year earlier. That is not necessarily a sign of failure. It is part of economic transformation. The problem begins when the transition outpaces the state's capacity to absorb people who lose their foothold in the old economy. Water rarely drives rural migration by itself. It erodes the remaining foothold of those still holding on. In vulnerable agricultural regions, especially along the Amu Darya, shortages sharpen an already...

3 weeks ago

Tokayev and Trump Put Results at the Center of a Growing Partnership

Investment, nuclear security and a possible visit to Kazakhstan featured in a July 10 telephone call between Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and U.S. President Donald Trump. Tokayev began by congratulating Trump on the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence. He noted that the United States had become a global superpower within three generations and expressed support for what Akorda described as the Trump administration’s “common-sense policies”. The Kazakh president also said those policies aligned with his own vision of building a Just Kazakhstan based on law and order. The language reflected the increasingly warm tone of the relationship and Tokayev’s effort to engage Trump through themes of national strength, order and economic achievement. The discussion soon turned to results. Tokayev reported progress in implementing agreements reached during his November 2025 visit to Washington. During that visit, Kazakh and U.S. partners announced 29 deals and cooperation initiatives worth nearly $17 billion, according to Kazakh officials. They included a planned $1.1 billion tungsten project involving U.S.-based Cove Capital. Kazakhstan’s scale gives the relationship wider strategic weight. By far Central Asia’s largest economy, it accounted for 56.4% of the combined GDP of the region’s five states in 2025, based on World Bank data. Kazakhstan also held 66.4% of Central Asia’s inward foreign direct investment stock at the end of 2025, according to UNCTAD. Its importance to the United States and its allies is equally concrete. Kazakhstan-origin material accounted for 24% of foreign-origin uranium deliveries to U.S. civilian nuclear-power operators in 2024, second only to Canada, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Kazakhstan also accounted for 12.7% of the value of the European Union’s crude petroleum-oil imports from outside the bloc in 2025, behind only the United States and Norway, according to Eurostat. That economic and strategic weight helps align the priorities of the two governments. Washington wants dependable sources of critical minerals and more resilient supply chains. Kazakhstan wants American capital and technology to expand processing, manufacturing and higher-value production. The November package provided a framework for moving the relationship from political interest toward concrete commercial projects. Senator Steve Daines has helped sustain that momentum. Akorda specifically mentioned Tokayev’s recent meeting with Daines, alongside his contacts with U.S. Special Envoy for South and Central Asia Sergio Gor, other White House officials and American business leaders. Daines has become one of Washington’s leading advocates for closer engagement with Kazakhstan and the wider Caspian region. In a June speech on U.S. relations with the region, he called for new mines, upgraded infrastructure and artificial-intelligence investment. He also pressed Congress to repeal the Jackson–Vanik restrictions still affecting Central Asia. For Kazakhstan, the lingering Cold War-era measure leaves normal trade relations subject to annual review rather than permanent status. Its removal would provide greater political certainty for long-term American investment. The most strategically significant language in the Akorda readout concerned nuclear non-proliferation. Tokayev reaffirmed Kazakhstan’s commitment to “non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and enriched uranium” and stressed close collaboration with the International Atomic Energy Agency to ensure effective...

3 weeks ago

U.S., Turkmenistan Draw Closer with Senator’s Visit to Ashgabat

Turkmenistan wants to deepen cooperation with the United States in areas including fuel and energy, transport, finance, banking, and artificial intelligence, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov has told a visiting U.S. senator. Senator Steve Daines, a Montana Republican who is a leading advocate of U.S.-Central Asia collaboration, also met Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, Serdar’s father and powerful predecessor, as well as Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov, in Ashgabat on Thursday. “Our country, endowed with rich natural resources, is implementing a strategy of diversifying energy supply routes and stands for the development of mutually beneficial cooperation based on equal consideration of the interests of producers, consumers, and transit countries,” state media said in a report on the meeting between the president and Daines. Turkmenistan has large natural gas reserves, and China is the primary buyer. Although Turkmenistan is one of the most closed countries in the world, it has been taking steps to expand international contacts and develop its role in the so-called Middle Corridor, a trade network that links China and Europe via Central Asia and has grown in importance during the Russia-Ukraine war. The United States, meanwhile, is building closer ties with Central Asian governments, seeking access to critical minerals and energy, and aiming to reduce Chinese and Russian influence in the region. Daines serves on several Senate committees, including energy and natural resources. He has said he won’t seek re-election this year. Commenting on the senator’s visit, state media in Turkmenistan noted that some major American companies, including Boeing, General Electric, John Deere, and Case New Holland, had been involved in projects in the country for years. U.S. goods trade with Turkmenistan was $152.7 million in 2025, according to U.S. government data. U.S. goods exports to Turkmenistan last year were $113.3 million, up 43.6% from the previous year, and U.S. goods imports from Turkmenistan were $39.4 million, up 169% from 2024. While those numbers are low compared to the volume of trade between the United States and bigger trading partners, the annual percentage increase is notable. A day before his meetings in Turkmenistan, Daines was in Kazakhstan, where he discussed trade and diplomatic ties with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. Kazakhstan's leader said he looked forward to traveling to Miami in December to participate in the G20 summit.

3 weeks ago

Karakabak Silk Road Finds Reveal Ancient Trade Links

In 568, the Sogdian diplomat Maniakh led an embassy from the Turkic Khagan Istemi to the court of Byzantine Emperor Justin II. The mission sought to negotiate direct silk trade with the Byzantines and an alliance against Sasanian Iran, which controlled the principal overland routes between Central Asia and Byzantium. Historians have traditionally associated this diplomatic mission with the development of direct commercial and diplomatic links along the northern routes of the Silk Road. However, archaeological research conducted over the past decade in Mangystau, western Kazakhstan, has opened new perspectives on the study of ancient trade networks and offers a fresh interpretation of this long-held assumption. One of the most significant recent discoveries is the ancient settlement of Karakabak, located on the shore of Kochak Bay along the northeastern coast of the Caspian Sea. Preliminary evidence suggests that the settlement existed from the first century CE until the middle of the sixth century. The settlement likely emerged alongside the development of local mineral resources, including the extraction and processing of copper, iron, lead, and bitumen. Craftsmen at Karakabak produced jewelry, ceremonial and everyday belt fittings, clothing, weapons, horse harnesses, and saddles. Silver, gold, garnets, amber, lapis lazuli, carnelian, red coral, and pearls were imported for jewelry making and processed at the site. [caption id="attachment_51864" align="aligncenter" width="602"] Image: Andrey Astafyev[/caption] The settlement also produced a wide range of ceramic vessels, some of which were distributed well beyond the region. Glass beads and cullet were imported from across the Caspian Sea to support local glassworking. This provides compelling evidence that Karakabak was integrated into international economic networks during antiquity. Glass found at the site included material originating in both the Roman Empire and Iran. Taken together, the archaeological evidence allows Karakabak to be interpreted as a major manufacturing and processing center that participated in extensive interregional exchange networks serving the nomadic world. Archaeologists have recovered a substantial collection of more than 150 coins dating from the first century through the first half of the sixth century CE. The collection includes coins from Parthia, Ancient Khorezm, Bukhara Sogdiana, Sasanian Iran, the Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom, the Byzantine Empire, and China. [caption id="attachment_51866" align="aligncenter" width="1379"] Image: Andrey Astafyev[/caption] Research has established that Karakabak maintained commercial ties with the Zhetyasar culture in the lower Syr Darya region of present-day Kyzylorda Region, the Kerder culture in the Amu Darya delta, Sasanian Iran, Caucasian Albania, the North Caucasus, the Azov region, the Lower and Middle Volga, and the Southern Urals. This demonstrates the settlement’s high commercial and economic status. In terms of its role within international trade networks, Karakabak may be compared to the modern Port of Aktau on the Caspian Sea. The discovery of an entire enclave-type archaeological complex centered on Karakabak represents a unique archaeological phenomenon in southwestern Kazakhstan. It also requires a reassessment of the site’s place and role within the transport infrastructure of the Great Silk Road. Evidence of economic ties with the Zhetyasar culture, together with the discovery of Parthian coins, suggests that alongside...

3 weeks ago

Tajikistan Offers Farmers Subsidized Diesel as Fuel Shortages Deepen

Tajikistan’s Ministry of Agriculture says farmers will be able to purchase diesel at a subsidized price of approximately $1.20 per liter through the Agency for State Material Reserves as fuel shortages intensify across the country. Speaking at a press conference on July 9, First Deputy Agriculture Minister Nurali Asozoda acknowledged that fuel supplies remained under pressure throughout the region. Tajikistan imports most of its petroleum products and liquefied gas from Russia, leaving it vulnerable to disruptions in the Russian fuel market. According to Asozoda, the agency is selling diesel to agricultural producers for about $1.20 per liter, while AI-92 gasoline is available for approximately $0.99 per liter. Commercial filling stations are charging considerably more. Diesel prices have risen to around $1.40-1.66 per liter, while some stations have reported shortages. Asozoda added that the lower prices apply only to fuel distributed through the agency. He said reserve stocks were available in several regions and that agricultural producers could apply to buy fuel. In some cases, farms may also receive diesel on deferred-payment terms to allow them to complete the harvest. Deputy Agriculture Minister Bahrom Ahmadzada said the ministry had submitted proposals to the government in May to support farmers affected by the shortage. One proposal would establish dedicated fuel distribution points operated by the agency in rural districts. The initiative is currently under government review. Authorities are also seeking to diversify Tajikistan’s fuel imports. According to Ahmadzoda, negotiations are underway with Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan, and Saudi Arabia. He said an agreement had already been reached to import 10,000 tons of fuel from Iraq, while discussions with Azerbaijan and Saudi Arabia were also progressing. The ministry said it was monitoring the fuel situation daily in coordination with the agency and other government bodies. The shortage became more visible in early July, when several filling stations in Dushanbe ran out of diesel. Others limited sales to 20 liters per vehicle. The supply squeeze is particularly serious for agriculture. Farmers rely on diesel to harvest crops, transport produce, and prepare fields for the next planting season. As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, fuel shortages are spreading across Central Asia. The pressure has affected gasoline and diesel supplies, along with jet fuel, natural gas, coal, and electricity planning. Seasonal fuel pressure is common, but this year’s shortages have appeared unusually early. They are closely linked to disruptions in Russia, the main fuel supplier for much of the region.

3 weeks ago

Tajikistan Notes Conservation Success as Markhor Population Grows

Tajikistan’s population of markhors, a wild goat species known for its corkscrew-style horns, fell to an estimated several hundred in the 1990s, a tumultuous period marked by civil war following independence from the Soviet Union. Today, there are more than 7,000 markhors in the country, and their numbers are increasing, according to a survey conducted earlier this year. The population increase reflects years of conservation measures and local community efforts to protect the markhor, which is indigenous to mountain regions in parts of Central and South Asia. In 2014, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) listed the species as “Near Threatened” on its Red List, an improvement on its previous “Endangered” designation. At the time, the IUCN estimated the total markhor population, not just in Tajikistan, at around 5,700 “mature individuals,” excluding kids and yearlings. The markhor’s range includes parts of Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, according to the conservation group. This year’s figure of more than 7,000 markhors in Tajikistan was reported by Isfandiyor Shukurzoda, a senior official in the country’s Committee for Environmental Protection, at a news conference on Thursday, the state news agency Khovar reported. Tajik officials also reported the figure in May at the United Nations. The number was based on a census carried out in February and March “using modern equipment that accurately monitors the movement of animals and their behavior in their natural environment without human intervention,” the agency said. It added that preliminary data indicated “the population of this rare animal species is stable and growing.” Members of the state Forestry Agency and the National Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan were involved in the census, which was conducted in the Danghara, Shamsiddin Shohin, and Darvoz districts. Those districts are in southern Tajikistan, with some areas bordering Afghanistan. Years ago, there were reports of markhors being poached for meat, including by Afghan hunters who crossed the remote border. Wood cutting for fuel and livestock grazing have also damaged markhor habitats by shrinking and fragmenting them. In recent years, there has been a push to raise the international profile of the markhor, including by Pakistan, where it is the national animal. The U.N. General Assembly declared May 24 the International Day of the Markhor and marked the occasion for the first time in 2024. The term markhor means “snake-eater,” although the animal is a herbivore.

3 weeks ago