As the SCA’s annual awards programme returns in 2023 – read more about the full programme – we look back on 10 years of the programme and understand the impact on international networking and capacity building.
Young Conservation Leader closes on 1 May 2023 – Download the application form
Young Conservation Leader is one of those awards. Through YCL we aim to increase the number of students and young people working with the SCA as young conservation leaders
In 2019 SCA awarded Aibat Muzhbay a Young Conservation Leader award. Aibat went on to continue working within Saiga Conservation and is working towards a masters degree in Germany.
Aibat research focused on water resources and lands within the Ustyurt landscape. This saiga habitat is accessed by peasant agriculturalists, collecting information about the location of farms and water wells is very important for the future wildlife management. As well as monitoring saiga and assessment of saiga presence in the research area, this study included research of peasant agriculture collecting data about the composition of livestock herds, vegetation and topography. Also, Aibat’s research of water wells focused on active and inactive artesians (An artesian well is a well that brings groundwater to the surface without pumping because it is under pressure within a body of rock and/or sediment) to determine the need to build new wells to support agriculture and wildlife.
We caught up with Aibat recently. When asked what he’s gone on to achieve and why YCL was important to his career Aibat told SCA:
‘After participating in the programme, I did not stop working, and to this day I continue to work in the field of saiga conservation in Kazakhstan.
I work closely with the local Ustyurt population to involve them in the conservation of saigas, and discourage them from engaging in poaching or illegal wildlife trade. This is a very large project, which mainly received funding from Naturschutzbund Deutschland (NABU). With the project team, we were able to maintain a huge area (491,000 ha) for a local organisation that will be engaged in the protection of saigas and other animals.
I am also currently studying for a master’s degree at the University of Greifswald (Germany). My dissertation is focused on the study of saigas. For the subject of study, I chose the Ural saiga population. As some people may know, in Kazakhstan, there are important discussions about the sustainable use of saigas, due to conflict between saigas and farmers.
My scientific work aims to identify the areas where there is most tension between farmers and saigas, and will aim to measure how grave the situation is over grazing of livestock and wild animals such as saigas.
The Young Conservation Leader award is important for the young conservationists of the Steppe regions, it has allowed me to continue vital conservation work.
Young Conservation Leader closes on 1 May 2023 – Download the application form