Introduction

The largest steppe areas of the world are located in the Asian part of Eurasia (Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia). However, if extensive long-term studies of steppe territories were conducted in Mongolia and Russia, including with the participation of international teams, the study of the natural steppes and their management problems in Kazakhstan is insufficient. At the same time, Kazakhstan is one of the largest countries and ranks 9th in the world. The area of ​​the Republic of Kazakhstan is 2,724,900 km², and more than 40% is occupied by steppe ecosystems.
The main goal of the Group of Specialists of the «Holarctic Steppes» of the Commission for the Management of Ecosystems of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (CEMCEM / IUCN) is to promote steppe conservation and harmonization of protection with the needs of human society, to analyze the distribution of steppe ecosystems in the Holarctic, their current status and effective management.
The preparation of accessible information on the steppe territories of the world - the Virtual Encyclopedia of the World Steppes page devoted to Kazakhstan - is directly related to the implementation of the Group's Work Plan and CEM / IUCN issues for 2017-2020 to assess the conservation of the steppes, to disseminate knowledge of the biodiversity of steppe ecosystems and their sustainable use and preservation.

Brief project description: The results of the project of the Specialist Group "Holarctic steppes" of the Commission for the Management of Ecosystems of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (CEM / IUCN ) "Approachable information about the steppe areas of the world - preparation of a new page of the Virtual Encyclopedia of the World's Steppes (Kazakhstan)" are presented.

Partners: Kostanay State Pedagogical Institute (Research Center for Ecology and Biology, Research Center for Biodiversity), Public Association (NGO) "Naurzum",  Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Limited liability company "Siberian Environmental Center".  

Read more about the IUCN/CEM’s Specialist Group “Holarctic Steppes”: https://www.iucn.org/commissions/commission-ecosystem-management/our-work/cems-specialist-groups/holarctic-steppes

Project Coordinator: Bragina Tatyana Michailovna, Doctor in Biologicl Science, Full Professor of Biology

Responsibility specialists:
Bragina Tatyana Michailovna,  Doctor in Biological Science, Full Professor of Biology; Perezhogin Yury Victorovich, Ph.D. of Biological Sciences, Associate Professor of Biology; Sukhov Michael Vasilievich, Ph.D. of Engineering Sciences, Associate Professor of Engineering Sciences

With the participation of:
Bragin Yevgeniy Alexandrovich, Ph.D. of Biological Sciences, Associate Professor of Biology;
Plokhikh Roman Vyacheslavovich, Doctor in Geographic Sciences, Associate Professor of Geographic Sciences
Smelansky Ilya Eduardovich, Ph.D. of Biological Sciences

The goal of the project is the analysis of existing materials and descriptions of the steppes of the Republic of Kazakhstan and creation the part of the «Virtual Encyclopedia of the World’s Steppes” – “Kazakhstan”. analysis and systematization of available materials and descriptions about the steppes of the Republic of Kazakhstan and creation the part of the "Virtual Encyclopedia of the World’s Steppes" - "Kazakhstan".

The phyto-geographical map [Atlas.., 2006] and the modern description of steppe vegetation of Kazakhstan (Rachkovskaya & Bragina, 2012) were used as the basis for the project as well as the available data of some number of the web-sites and the publications (see list of references).