Story 03 Nov, 2025

Communities at the heart of the One Health approach in Central Asia

How can communities protect their livelihoods while also safeguarding nature’s balance? To explore these questions, we spoke with Tazarf Shamirova, Conservation Officer at the Tajikistan Nature Foundation, and Murat Zhumashev, Director of CAMP Alatoo Public Foundation in Kyrgyzstan. This conversation, originally recorded as part of an IUCN Congress podcast on “The Role of Communities in Nature Conservation within the One Health Approach”, explores how local knowledge and daily engagement with nature are critical for building resilience in both ecosystems and societies.

Photo: Institute of Zoology of Kazakhstan

A region shaped by shared risks

Across Central Asia’s mountain valleys, river corridors, and high-altitude pastures, people, livestock, and wildlife share the same fragile landscapes. This close coexistence brings both extraordinary opportunity and serious risk—especially when it comes to the transmission of zoonotic diseases that can jump between animals and humans.

Central Asia has experienced multiple zoonotic disease outbreaks that pose serious risks to public health and local economies. Alongside the more commonly reported rabies, tuberculosis, brucellosis, plague, and anthrax, there have also been non-zoonotic outbreaks where a One Health approach remains essential. Heavy mortality among mountain ungulates, for instance, has disrupted ecological balance and affected the livelihoods of communities that depend on these ecosystems for grazing and tourism.

These recurring challenges highlight the deep interconnection between animal health, human wellbeing, and ecosystem stability—showing that coordinated, cross-sectoral action is not optional but necessary.

Communities on the frontline

In Tajikistan, where about 75 percent of the population lives in rural areas and most families keep livestock, the link between people, animals, and the environment is immediate and visible. “Cattle, sheep, and goats are the foundation of rural livelihoods,” says Tazarf Shamirova. “Almost every household depends on them for food and income, and that close contact with animals shapes how communities interact with nature every day.”

This dependence also places communities on the frontline of zoonotic disease transmission. Diseases such as brucellosis, anthrax, rabies, and echinococcosis remain present. Surveillance data from 2019 to 2023 indicate a rise in confirmed rabies cases in the region, both in animals and humans, from between 33 and 38 cases annually during 2019 - 2022 to an alarming 46 cases in 2023. “Each infected animal represents a potential human case,” explains Shamirova. “Rural families often slaughter livestock at home, consume undercooked meat or unpasteurised milk, and have limited awareness of disease risks.”

Climate change adds another layer of pressure. Warmer temperatures and shifting habitats affect both wildlife and livestock, influencing where species roam and how people use the land. “Sometimes cases of wildlife mortality are hidden,” Shamirova notes. “There’s a cultural hesitation to report them, yet these observations are critical for early warning.”

Local knowledge as early warning

“Local communities are often the first to see something unusual, a sudden death among livestock, or fewer birds on the river,” says Shamirova. “Their knowledge can trigger a faster response than official systems alone.” Within the One Health in nature conservation in Central Asia (1Health4Nature) project, implemented by IUCN and national and international partners, efforts are underway to harness this knowledge through participatory monitoring, community training, and awareness campaigns.

Murat Zhumashev emphasised that in Kyrgyzstan, similar initiatives help herders and rangers become active participants in data collection. “They would be able to identify disease symptoms, record them in simple logbooks, and report to local veterinary points,” he explained. “This makes the system more responsive and builds trust between communities and authorities.”

Shared responsibility and long-term ownership

Both experts underline that engagement must come with ownership. “Projects have a beginning and an end,” Shamirova says. “But when they end, communities must be ready to continue the work, to take responsibility for coexistence with nature. That’s what makes conservation sustainable.” Zhumashev added that strengthening community institutions, such as pasture user unions or local conservation committees, ensures continuity. “If we want One Health to last, we need to embed it in local governance structures, not only in projects,” he noted.

Tazarf Shamirova with members of the local community in Tajikistan

Photo: Tajikistan Nature Foundation

Murat Zhumashev with rangers in Kyrgyzstan

Photo: Camp Alatoo

Their organisations, Tajikistan Nature Foundation and CAMP Alatoo Public Foundation, also IUCN Members, are working to integrate One Health principles into protected-area governance, wildlife monitoring, and sustainable land management, linking conservation with human well-being, now also through the 1Health4Nature partnership.

Bridging sectors: from field to policy

The One Health approach is still relatively new in the region in the nature conservation sector, but its logic is simple: human, animal, and ecosystem health are inseparable. This means bringing together conservationists, veterinarians, health professionals, and local leaders to act jointly. Zhumashev pointed out that One Health also opens space for dialogue between ministries from different sectors, environment, agriculture, and health, and creates a common platform for data exchange and prevention planning.

For Shamirova, the practical value lies in trust. “When communities see that their observations are respected, they become our partners. They realise that protecting wildlife also protects their herds and their families.”

A shared future for people and nature

Across Central Asia, where ecosystems are vast and interlinked, the path toward a healthier planet starts locally, in households, villages, and rangelands.

Reflecting on the insights shared by the two experts, Tatiana Ivanova, Conservation Officer in IUCN Regional Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia (ECARO), thanked them for their contributions and emphasised the importance of maintaining this people-centred focus: “Communities play a significant role and should be involved at every stage of actions related to nature conservation and the monitoring of wildlife species and zoonoses. A participatory approach that brings together all stakeholders and sectors is essential for achieving lasting results. Early engagement and clear communication with communities help prevent crises before they escalate. By collecting data on species and zoonoses and valuing local and traditional knowledge, we strengthen trust and build true ownership of One Health initiatives,” Ivanova added.

“A healthy planet starts with healthy communities,” Shamirova concludes. “The One Health approach gives us a way to make that connection visible and actionable.”

The conversation with Tazarf Shamirova and Murat Zhumashev reminds us that the One Health is not an abstract framework, but a practical reality lived daily by the people who depend most on nature’s resilience.

About the project

The project 1Health4Nature (full title: “One Health in Nature Conservation - Enhancing landscape resilience to zoonotic disease emergence by consolidating nature conservation systems in Central Asia”), implemented by IUCN and national and international partners, will help prevent the emergence and spread of zoonotic diseases. It focuses on the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health, emphasising the need for a holistic approach to address complex challenges.

The experts will work to consolidate a fair and effective regional network of protected and conserved areas, strengthen conservation measures and wildlife management for disease risk mitigation, and promote the latest zoonosis research and technology advancements. The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Climate Action and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN) through the International Climate Initiative (IKI) and executed by IUCN in collaboration with a consortium of national and international organizations across five Central Asian countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, over 5 years (2024-2029).

Coordinated by IUCN, this partnership brings together international partners, including the Michael Succow Foundation, the Secretariat of the Convention of Migratory Species (CMS), UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC), and the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), and national authorities and expert organisations across the region, such as CAMP Alatoo and Ilbirs Foundation in Kyrgyzstan, the Institute of Zoology of Kazakhstan, the Institute of Zoology of Uzbek Academy of Sciences, the Tajikistan Nature Foundation (TNF) and Conservation X Labs covering Turkmenistan.