The United Transport and Logistics Company - the Eurasian Railway Alliance, within the framework of the development of the ecological initiative "keen on green", supported a project to restore the population of the Bukhara deer in Kazakhstan. During the year, it is planned to relocate 20 animals to the new area to create a broodstock.

The new project is an important stage in the work to increase the number of Bukhara deer in the valley of the Syrdarya river (Kazakhstan).

The project is designed for 1 year and will be implemented according to the methodology that has already been successfully tested in the valleys of the Zarafshan and Syrdarya rivers. Deer will be imported fr om a nursery in the Turkestan region.

The territory wh ere the deer will be settled is part of the regional natural park and is located in the floodplain of the river Syrdarya from Chardara reservoir to the border with Kyzylorda region. All conditions for a safe stay of Bukhara deer have been created here: the park has an equipped inspection service, and an open-air cage has been prepared on the territory for overexposing deer and possible breeding.

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The Eurasian Railway Alliance is the first company to support WWF projects in Kazakhstan. We are grateful to our new partner for the support and hope, during the first year of our cooperation, to organize a new broodstock of Bukhara deer on the Syrdarya River, which will successfully breed and populate new territories", - Grigory Mazmaniants, Director of the Central Asian Program of WWF-Russia, says.

“Today, the issue of environmental change is very acute. Most environmental programs are dedicated to protecting ecosystems from the harmful effects of urbanization and industrial development. The health of our planet is a very important factor for the Eurasian Railway Alliance. Our first project dedicated to environmental sustainability - the return of Bukhara deer to nature, we decided to carry out jointly with the World Wildlife Fund", - Alexey Grom says, Director General of The United Transport and Logistics Company.

Bukhara deer and its return to the wild

Bukhara deer is a rare subspecies of red deer that lives in a narrow strip of riparian thickets along the rivers of Central Asia. It is ideally adapted to survive in desert conditions: it can do with a very limited range of food and does not destroy the growth of riparian forests. Usually deers eat twigs up to 15 mm thick, and Bukhara deer - only up to 5 mm, so the growth of young trees is not suppressed, but rather stimulated. Due to such nutritional characteristics, the deer population can reach high densities in small areas.

Riparian forest is not only the home of the Bukhara deer, but also many other animals. The riparian floodplain forests keep the groundwater level and reduce soil salinization. Coastal riparian thickets protect the banks from erosion and prevent river changes that could destroy agricultural land and existing infrastructure. Thus, the Bukhara deer plays an important role for the entire ecosystem, being the key to its well-being.

At the end of the 20th century, the Bukhara deer was almost completely destroyed by humans - only 350 individuals remained in 10 small groups throughout Central Asia, mainly in the Amudarya valley, although it previously lived in riparian forests along all Asian rivers. With the support of WWF-Russia, work has been carried out for 20 years to return deer to the valleys of the Zarafshan rivers in Uzbekistan and the Syrdarya in Kazakhstan. Today there are about 3,500 Bukhara deer in captivity and in the wild in Central Asia.

About company

Joint Stock Company “The United Transport and Logistics Company - The Eurasian Railroad Alliance” provides services in the field of organizing transit transportation of containers as part of regular container trains.

For additional information please contact

Grigoriy Mazmaniants

Director of the Central Asian Program Office of WWF-Russia