Saiga vs. Human? Observations from a participatory scenario-building process in Western Kazakhstan

Henryk Alff

Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development (HNEE), Eberswalde, Germany, & KIMEP University, College of Social Sciences (CSS), Almaty, Kazakhstan

*Email: h.alff@kimep.kz

https://doi.org/10.29258/CAJSCR/2026-R1.v5-1/72-85.eng

Thematic cluster: Climate, Environmental Science, Landscape/Agriculture

Type of paper: Research paper

xxxxx xx, 2026

Abstract

In this contribution, the author scrutinises his observations from co-facilitating and observing a participatory scenario-building exercise based on the Resilience Framework methodology in a steppe area of Western Kazakhstan. This workshop format was applied by a consortium of partners from the United Kingdom, Kazakhstan, Germany, and Mongolia to map various land use and conservation issues in this part of Central Asia (CA) and elaborate scenarios for a more socio-ecologically sustainable development of the social-environmental systems (SES) in question. The two workshops in Uralsk, Kazakhstan, in March and April 2025 largely drew attention to the conflict between pastoralist herders and farmers – the majority of the local rural population – and the conservation objectives around the migrating saiga antelope populations that had soared up to 2.8 mln as of 2024 (Koshkina et al., 2026). With the local stakeholders, including representatives of farmer associations, livestock holders and rural administrations, the approach sought to gain a systemic understanding of the local socio-economic and political context, as well as carve out development scenarios including strategies to pursue to achieve them. The article not only describes some of the key observations from the workshop cycle, but also inspects several epistemological issues regarding knowledge generation processes worthy of additional analysis.

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For citation: Henryk Alff (2026). Saiga vs. Human? Observations from a participatory scenario-building process in Western Kazakhstan. Central Asian Journal of Sustainability and Climate Research, 5(1), 72-85. https://doi.org/10.29258/CAJSCR/2026-R1.v5-1/72-85.eng

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