Securing tulips and montane grassland in Kyrgyzstan

In partnership with Cambridge University Botanic Garden and Bioresource, we are gathering vital field data on tulip distribution, ecology and threats to help to pinpoint priority sites to protect the most vulnerable species. In these areas, we are working directly with pastoralists to help restore larger-scale areas of tulip habitat and grazing pasture by encouraging pasture users to apply skills and techniques that support the recovery of grasslands. Key activities include the development and implementation of pasture management plans, in which degraded areas of tulip habitat will be set aside and given time to recover.

Credit: Brett Wilson

We aim to encourage resilient and thriving Kyrgyz pastoral communities that are supported by healthy and diverse montane grassland ecosystems, with self-sustaining tulip populations. To do this we are: 

• Building local and national pride in tulips as one of Kyrgyzstan’s most charismatic species, helping to grow broader support for their long-term conservation 
• Increasing knowledge of wild tulip species to inform conservation and management development at a national level 

• Engaging members of grazing communities to increase knowledge and actively engage in sustainable pasture planning and management

This project is delivered in partnership with Cambridge University Botanic Garden, BioResource, Association of Forest Users and Land Users of Kyrgyzstan (AFLUK), National Academy of Science of Kyrgyz Republic and Gareev Botanical Garden (GBG).