In several regions of Kazakhstan, local administrations continue to purchase expensive imported saplings that struggle to thrive in the local climate. This was stated by Vice-Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Nurken Sharbiyev during a round table at the Senate.
According to Informburo.kz, Sharbiyev noted that in the country's settlements, more than 18 million trees were planted between 2021 and 2025, with 1.4 million planted in the current year alone.
He clarified that over 3 million saplings are planted annually across the country. However, some regions continue to purchase imported tree species that are not suited to the climatic conditions.
“To make up for the shortfall, local administrations import expensive planting material from abroad, thereby spending state funds. Yet the survival rate is low. We believe the solution lies in establishing nurseries to grow planting material,” said Sharbiyev.
As the Vice-Minister noted, the lack of precise data on the green stock of cities reduces the quality of landscaping work.
Local administrations have been recommended to introduce a unified information system for recording the condition of green spaces, which is currently only operational in Astana, Almaty, and Shymkent. In the Atyrau and Zhambyl regions, as well as the Abai region, implementation is still in the development stage.
Sharbiyev also stated that a shortage of specialists capable of professionally selecting plant species based on climate leads to mass die-off of green spaces. According to the Vice-Minister, this issue needs to be addressed systematically and with the involvement of the scientific community.
The Ministry of Ecology proposes the following measures:
- rethink the approach to planning and organising greening in settlements and transition to scientifically based methods;
- instruct local executive bodies to create nurseries for growing adapted planting material;
- strengthen control over illegal tree felling, the care of green spaces, and the preservation of medicinal plant populations;
- introduce an information system for recording and monitoring the condition of green spaces.
Incidentally, entrepreneur Yerlan Ospanov commented last year on the state project for large-scale greening of the country, which aims to plant 2 billion trees by 2025. According to Ospanov, the actual volume of planting material grown is significantly lower than the stated plans.
“Where do we get these 2 billion saplings and seedlings? Even the best-known nursery I’ve heard of, ‘Semey Ormany’, provides about 1 million a year. Well, maybe a few million. But the quality of the planting material is also very critical. Not everything can be planted—it will simply die,” he wrote.
For context, in August 2023, journalist and agricultural expert Kirill Pavlov reported that the capital’s administration is providing false statistics on the survival rate of green spaces in Astana. As a result, the budget is losing billions of tenge.
The expert noted that the administration claims an inflated sapling survival rate of 90%. When asked what survival rate they forecast for the million plantings planned, the administration gave a similar answer.
In August 2024, deputy of the city maslikhat Vladislav Sergeyev stated that Astana is spending tens of billions of budget funds on planting trees and shrubs but does not keep track of them. He also recalled cases where trees are planted as compensation for those cut down, but they do not survive.