The Ili delta enters the COP17 debate: who will pay to protect nature?

On October 17, Kazakhstan’s Ecology Ministry reported its participation in a COP17 discussion on financing biodiversity. Participants discussed a global goal of mobilising at least $200 billion a year by 2030. This is an international target, not a promise of that amount for Kazakhstan.

Minister Alibek Kuantyrov pointed to restoration of tugai forests in the Ili River delta. Tugai is riverside woodland and scrub in dry regions. It supports wildlife, helps hold soil in place and depends on water flows. Restoration therefore cannot be judged by tree-planting totals alone; water supply and survival rates matter too.

Where funding could come from

The ministry mentioned payments for ecosystem services and the BIOFIN initiative with UNDP. The first approach gives economic recognition to benefits healthy ecosystems provide and can reward protection. BIOFIN helps identify and plan financing sources. The announcement did not specify new funding for the Ili delta itself.

The next questions are concrete: will projects, deadlines and indicators be published, including restored forest area, water conditions and wildlife status? Until then, the speech is an important policy signal rather than evidence of measured ecological success.

Source: https://www.gov.kz/org/ecogeo/press/news/1.