Saving Nature’s Legacy of Kazakhstan: Incarvillea semiretschenskia

Project Status: Completed 2024

Funded by: the Global Botanic Garden Fund

Project Partner: Institute of Botany and Phytointroduction

Introduction

Incarvillea semiretschenskia is a relict and range-restricted endemic Kazakhstani plant. Despite being relatively well-studied, conservation actions are lacking while threats like limestone mining, overgrazing, and fires escalate extinction risks. This project aimed to prepare important plant areas, justify a protected area, and propose IUCN Red List inclusion.

Project Goals

To conduct three expeditions to rediscover Incarvillea semiretschenskia habitats and identifying local populations, then provide a training workshop for botanists and naturalists to educate others on this species.

Key Achievements

Three expeditions were conducted in December 2023, May, and June 2024 and rediscovered Incarvillea semiretschenskia habitats, identifying five local populations and cenoflora of communities with 150+ species. Findings were presented at a Barnaul botanical conference and published.

The data supported the species’ inclusion in the IUCN Red List as Endangered (EN) and the designation of an Important Plant Area. Establishing a protected area required more time and resources, so only partial progress was achieved. However, this project enabled a systematic assessment of plant species extinction risks based on international Red List criteria at a global level. In recent years, Kazakhstan has had little experience assessing plant extinction risks using IUCN criteria. The successful application of these criteria to Incarvillea semiretschenskia and its inclusion in the IUCN Red List have promoted their broader use in conserving botanical diversity.

The Institute of Botany and Phytointroduction organised a training workshop for about 40 botanists and naturalists to educate others on this species. This project had a great impact on Incarvillea semiretschenskia and IUCN criteria assessments and IPA identification have been integrated into the draft national Concept for Biodiversity Conservation. One of the outcomes from this project is that the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Tamgaly has partnered in protecting Shu-Ili landscapes.