Golden eagle offers hope

A grass-roots effort to protect the golden eagle, one of Kazakhstan's 15 endangered species of birds of prey, is now reaping positive results following a monetary grant from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Found throughout Central Asia, the powerful bird is particularly prominent in Kazakhstan. "There are now 60 birds in the area, up from 30 two years earlier, before the project started," Stanislav Kim, the national coordinator for the UNDP's Global Environment Facility (GEF)/Small Grants Programme, told IRIN in the village of Nuran, 150 km east of the Kazakh city of Almaty. This is good news for the 2,000 residents of the tobacco-growing community, who hope to turn the birds' replenished numbers into economic profit. Located along the main road to China and Kazakhstan’s popular Charyn canyon, their newly established bird sanctuary and museum - made possible by the US $40,000 GEF grant - could prove a popular tourist attraction. "As part of the conservation effort here, we are hoping it will have a positive economic impact on the community," Selva Ramachandran, the UN deputy representative, told IRIN's reporter visiting the site. "This is not just purely a conservation project but one for sustainable livelihoods," he said. Numbering between 1,000 and 2,000 country-wide, the golden eagle, or berkut in Kazakh, features prominently in the culture and history of the vast nation of 16 million. "My family traces their history to the bird," Mukhamed Isabekov, the chairman of the Sayatshi club working to promote the eagle, told IRIN.

The Tazy Kazakh hunting dogs are also diminishing in numbers

Himself an experienced falconer, or berkutchi, the 46-year-old Isabekov is now teaching young people, including his 19-year-old son, Kuanysh, the ancient art of hunting with golden eagles. Working initially with smaller birds of prey, such as falcons and hawks, the process of becoming a skilled berkutchi takes years. Meanwhile, the golden eagle's hunting capabilities remain largely unknown outside Kazakhstan. Practised for thousands of years on the Eurasian steppes, the age-old technique prevailed mainly in the northern and central regions of the country, with each individual bird trained to hunt a particular animal. In addition to mice, hares and foxes, a well-trained eagle can even kill wolves. Working in collaboration with the berkutchi, the powerful bird hunts its prey in flight and kills it before being joined by a traditional Kazakh hunting dog, or tazy, a breed also diminishing in numbers, but now also found at the sanctuary. Following a prolonged period of poaching, habitat loss and pesticide usage, the golden eagle's numbers have dropped substantially. "Given the destruction of the environment, land degradation and overgrazing, there is not enough food for them," Kim said, noting that during the Soviet era large-scale pesticide usage throughout the country greatly reduced the numbers of small prey available to birds of prey. Consequently, as a rule, each eagle requires upwards of 25 sq km of hunting space in order to subsist.

A local 'Berkutci' offers a potentially dangerous kiss to his friend

Now, as part of the UNDP programme, about 35 eagle nests are being carefully monitored, with the provision of a more secure environment for the birds to thrive. During the winter months when food sources are particularly scarce, local residents working at the sanctuary regularly feed them. The GEF grant also provides for monitoring equipment and refrigerators in which to store meat for the eagles. In addition to the museum and sanctuary attracting tourists and thereby boosting the local economy, special consultations by visiting ornithologists are provided in an effort to better educate the community of the bird’s significance. While it still remains on the country’s endangered list, the golden eagle - along with the residents of Nuran - can look forward to a more promising future as a result of the project. The community is relearning a forgotten tradition, the eagle's numbers are increasing, and there is hope for an economic increment - proving yet again that small grants carefully placed can provide solid returns.