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Conservation boost for 'ugly duckling' antelope

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The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and several governments in Central Asia and Russia have concluded an agreement on conservation measures for the migratory Saiga antelopes, whose population have been in decline during the past two decades, the agency reported Monday.

Saiga antelopes [UNEP]

During an international conference in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, representatives from Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and UN bodies gathered under the auspices of the Convention on Migratory Species (UNEP/CMS) and agreed to include the Mongolian Saiga in an international conservation pact.

The meeting was also attended by representatives from intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and local communities from the region.

Saiga antelopes roam the vast plains of Central Asia and Russia. They can undertake migratory journeys between summer and winter of more than 1,000 kilometres. Although sometimes described as the "ugly duckling" of the world's antelopes, the Saiga comprise a vital part of the natural and cultural heritage of the plains of Eurasia.

They numbered around one million in the early 1990s, but declined to between 60,000 and 70,000 in 2006. In response to conservation efforts, their populations have stabilized, according to UNEP.

Currently there are reportedly about 85,000 animals in Kazakhstan, with almost 12,000 dying in a disease outbreak in May. Another 8,000 live in Mongolia, at least 10,000 animals are in Russia and several thousand live in Uzbekistan in winter. No Saiga mass migration has been observed in Turkmenistan in the last 10 years, where the species used to migrate during harsh winters.

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