Kazakhstan

Official website of the country: www.akorda.kz

Official website of the project component: www.bioversity.dtn.ru

Geography

Kazakhstan is located in Central Asia, in the middle of Eurasian continent. The territory of the country is 2.724.900 square kilometers (1.049.1500 sq. miles). Kazakhstan is the ninth largest country in the world. The territory of the republic stretches from the lower flow of the Volga in the west to the foothills of the Altay Mountains in the east – for 3000 km, spanning two time zones; from the West Siberian Plain in the north to the Kyzyl Kum desert and the Tien Shan mountains in the south - 2000 km.

The capital of Kazakhstan is Astana. Kazakhstan borders with Russia in the north and west, with China - in the east, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan - in the south. The country is washed by the waters of the intercontinental Caspian and Aral Seas.

The climate of the country is continental. The average January temperature ranges from -19 to -4 С, average July temperature - from +19 to +26 С. The lowest temperature in winter reaches -45 С, the highest is +30 С.

In Kazakhstan, there are 48000 large and small lakes, 8500 rivers. The largest among them are the Aral Sea, Balkhash, Zaisan, Alakol, Tengiz, Seletengiz.

Population

The population is 16 004.8 thousand people.

Population density is 5.5 people per sq. km.

Kazakhstan is a multiethnic state. The population of Kazakhstan is represented by various ethnic groups which have their cultural, linguistic and historical specificity. The largest ethnic groups are Kazakhs (63.1%) and Russians (23.7%), but there are also more than 100 other nationalities.

Agriculture

Agriculture is one of the key sectors of the economy in Kazakhstan. According to the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan, total area of agricultural land is 222.6 million hectares, of which 24 million hectares (10,8%) consist of arable land, 5 million hectares (2,2%) – of hayfields, 189 million hectares (85%) – of pastures.

Kazakhstan is a major exporter of wheat and flour (included in top 10 list of global exporters). This country grows about 100 crops.

There are also sheep breeding, cattle breeding, horse breeding, pig breeding and poultry production. Almost 90% of cattle is located in farm households of the population.

Biodiversity

26% of the territory of Kazakhstan consist of steppes. 167 million hectares are occupied of deserts (44%) and semi-deserts (12%). Forests occupy only 3,5% (21 million hectares) of the territory of Kazakhstan. Mostly there are coniferous forests, but there also wild fruit forests. In the rest of the country there are widespread herb-bunchgrass, sagebrush-grass, sagebrush-saltwort and desert vegetation. In the highlands, there are sub-alpine and alpine meadows. In Kazakhstan there are 250 species of herbal (medicinal) plants. In Southern Kazakhstan there grows a santonin, which does not exist anywhere else in the flora.

The fauna of Kazakhstan is quite peculiar. On the territory of the republic there are 155 species of mammals, 480 species of birds and 150 species of fish. Insects and reptiles prevail in the deserts and semi-deserts. In the steppe zone there can be met gazelles, saigas, wolves, foxes, jackals and various species of rodents (mice, squirrels, hamsters). The most diverse fauna is in the mountains. It is a home to bears, ibex and argali, snow leopards, deer and many species of birds. For the protection of wildlife there have been established reserves in all natural zones - from deserts to highlands.

Agrobiodoversity

In Kazakhstan there are concentrated the plant genetic resources of agrobiodiversity of global importance.They include 194 species of plants, defining genetic potential of 24 agricultural crops.

There are concentrated natural genetic resources of 12 genera of fruit tree plants (wild apple Malus siversi, apricot Armeniaca vulgaris Lam., pear Regel Pyrus regelii Rehd., blackcurrant Ribes nigrum L., almond Amygdalus communis, grapevine Vitis vinifera, pistachio Pistacea vera L., Eleagnus angustifolia L., walnut Juglans regia L., sea buckthorn Hippophae rhamnoides L. and gooseberry Grossularia actiularis (Smith.) Spach.), 7 grain and technical crops (flax Linum perenne L., mustard Brassica compestris L., B. juncea (L.) Czerv., B. nigra (L) Koch., garden rocket Eruca sativa Lam., soflor Corthamnus tinctorius L., alfalfa Medicago sativa L., oat Avena clauda Durie, (fatua L., sterillis L.) cannabis Cannabis ruderalis Janisch.), 4 vegetable crops (carrot Daucus corata L., purslane Portulaca olevacea L., asparagus Asparagus officinalis L., onion, garlic (Allium).

List of target fruit crops, covered by the project in Kazakhstan

Apple – Malus sp.;
Apricot – Armeniáca vulgaris;
Pear – Pyrus sp.;
Grapes – Vitus