Kazakhstan Plants Tens of Thousands of Trees to Restore Tigers Missing for 70 Years

After disappearing more than 70 years ago, tigers are finally preparing to return to Kazakhstan. The Central Asian nation is implementing an ambitious conservation project to restore the world’s largest predator to its historical habitat.

The initiative is substantial. Throughout last year alone, Kazakhstan planted 37,000 saplings and tree cuttings in the South Balkhash region, an area near Lake Balkhash in the southeast of the country—a region that was historically home to tigers.

This reintroduction programme is led by the Kazakhstani government with support from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The planting of 37,000 trees adds to approximately 50,000 saplings already planted between 2021 and 2024.

The last tiger in Kazakhstan, known as the Caspian tiger, disappeared in the late 1940s. Large-scale hunting, habitat loss, and a declining prey population caused the species to become extinct in the region.

Now, Kazakhstan wants to rewrite history.

Two captive-bred tigers—one male and one female—have arrived in Kazakhstan as part of a breeding and release programme. Additionally, the country is scheduled to receive its first wild tiger from Russia in the first half of 2026.

However, introducing tigers alone is insufficient. They require suitable habitat rich in resources. This is where the massive reforestation project plays a crucial role.

In the South Balkhash region, the planting area covers approximately 4 kilometres of Lake Balkhash’s shoreline—Central Asia’s largest lake and the world’s fifteenth largest, spanning approximately 17,000 square kilometres.

The new vegetation planted includes 30,000 saplings of narrow-leaved oleaster, 5,000 willow tree cuttings, and 2,000 turanga poplar saplings.

These trees form “forest islands” that help regulate water flow, stabilise flooding and runoff, whilst restoring the ecosystem.

More importantly, the vegetation provides protection, water access, and food sources for tiger prey such as wild boar and Bukhara deer (Cervus elaphus bactrianus).

According to WWF Central Asia, signs of recovery are already emerging.

“Wild ungulates foraging has already been observed at restored locations, demonstrating that the ecosystem is beginning to function again,” said a WWF Central Asia spokesman.

“Every sapling planted is a direct contribution to the future of tigers in Kazakhstan.”