Kazakhstan’s Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative has been named the winner of the prestigious Earthshot Prize 2024 in the “Protect and Restore Nature” category, awarded by His Royal Highness Prince William.
The Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative has received the prestigious prize in recognition of its vision and results to conserve and restore the steppe ecosystem in Kazakhstan for the benefit of Saiga antelope.
Altyn Dala was founded in 2005 to prevent the extinction of Saiga antelope.
The Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative was awarded the prestigious global prize for its work across 75 million hectares (185 million acres) of steppe ecosystems – equivalent in size to Turkey or Texas. Through these efforts, Altyn Dala has spectacularly reversed the prospects of the unique Saiga antelope, a keystone species across the steppe grasslands. Targeted by criminal poaching gangs for their horns, the Saiga antelope population collapsed by 2005, reaching lows of fewer than 40,000. Sustained research, anti-poaching, anti-smuggling, protected area establishment and public education efforts have since enabled Saiga antelope populations to recover to an unprecedented level of over 2.8 million in 2024.
“We are thrilled to be receiving the 2024 Earthshot Prize for Protect and Restore Nature. Altyn Dala demonstrates that when governments and civil society work together with a shared vision, we can achieve remarkable results. The restoration of the Saiga antelope population and the revival of the Central Asian steppe are not just triumphs for wildlife but for the local communities that depend on these ecosystems,” said Vera Voronova, Executive Director of the Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative.
