We are happy to announce one of our Small Grant Awards for 2016 goes to Bibigul Sarsenova, Chair of the Association ‘Society and Environment’, who works in the Republic of Kazakhstan.
The award will enable her to review public attitudes to the challenge of conserving the Ural saiga population in Kazakhstan, which currently numbers around 70,000 animals.
She will be working with our colleagues at the ACBK in Kazakhstan and our local network of children’s Steppe Wildlife Clubs to identify the causes ofpoaching in the region and the attitudes local people hold towards the saiga.
Bibigul will also be working with these groups to carry out environmental education activities focused on the challenges facing these critically endangered antelopes, and will be reaching out to students of local schools, art groups, environmental organizations and public institutions, as well as looking to engage with new schools in the area with the aim of setting up new Steppe Wildlife clubs.
Her project will also see her hosting guided tours at the Center for Wildlife and Conservation of Biodiversity in the Taskalinskom district of West Kazakhstan, where there is a new saiga captive breeding programme.
As you can see in the photos the centre is a great place for local people to easily see saigas.
