Vilm, Germany (May 4, 2017)– Experts have for the first time mapped the distribution and movement corridors of migratory mammals in combination with threats from linear infrastructure, such as railways, roads, pipelines, and border fences, across the entire Central Asian region.

Reports have reached the Secretariat that an outbreak of what is thought to be peste-des-petits ruminants (sheep and goat plague) is occurring among the Saiga Antelopes in Mongolia, where already more than 1,000 individuals have died and the epidemic is continuing.

In May 2015, a catastrophic and unprecedented mass die-off caused by a bacterial infection wiped out more than 200,000 saiga antelopes within a few weeks. The Betpak-Dala saiga population in central Kazakhstan lost almost 90 per cent of its animals, which is equivalent to over 60 per cent of the global population, leaving the species in a critical situation. A new census data shows an increase of saiga numbers in all three populations within Kazakhstan, the antelope’s main Range State.

The 7th mining forum "MINEX Central Asia – 2016" was hosted in the capital of Kazakhstan, Astana on 19-21 April 2016. For the first time the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), represented by Kazakhstan’s largest nature conservation NGO, the Association for the Conservation of the Biodiversity of Kazakhstan (ACBK), participated in a major event organized by the mining industry.