Across the Pamirs, China and Tajikistan Team Up to Protect Wildlife and Restore Connectivity

On the Roof of Central Asia, a Joint Mission Takes Shape

At more than 4,000 meters, where winds bite and the air runs thin, Chinese and Tajik scientists are building a model for cooperation in one of the toughest places to do fieldwork. Their goal is straightforward and ambitious: document the living fabric of the Pamirs and keep its wildlife moving across borders that animals do not recognize.

The teams track the iconic Marco Polo sheep, survey alpine plants that anchor fragile soils, and gather data that can guide governments toward science based decisions. As the researcher Yang Weikang of the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography described the field routine, he stressed how every sighting matters. After he spoke with colleagues about their methods and daily pace, he summed up the patience required.

“Whenever we encounter suitable habitats for Marco Polo sheep, we stop and observe. Sometimes we see only a few, sometimes dozens. Each sighting is valuable for our research,” said Yang Weikang, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The Sino Tajik collaboration took formal shape with the creation of the Joint Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Biological Resources in March 2022. Since then, the partners have organized quarterly expeditions, hosted technical exchanges, trained graduate students, and launched projects with scientists across Central Asia. The work now extends beyond a single species or valley. It seeks to stitch together data, corridors, and communities across a landscape shaped by ice, wind, and long migrations.

What Makes the Pamirs Unique?

The Pamir highlands connect several of Asia’s great mountain systems. Broad valleys sit under snow covered massifs, and some of the largest non polar glaciers feed rivers that flow to distant plains. Mean summer temperatures hover below 10 degrees Celsius at elevation, annual precipitation is sparse, and persistent winds favor hardy cushion plants, sedges, and low shrubs. This is a cold desert, alive with specialists that have adapted to thin air and short growing seasons.

Large carnivores like snow leopards and brown bears range here. Ibex, markhor, and wild sheep graze the steppe and alpine meadows, including the Marco Polo subspecies of argali that draws attention as the region’s flagship animal. Conservation groups describe the Pamir Alpine Desert and Tundra as a biogeographic junction with a mosaic of habitats and species that cross national lines. The region’s protection level is modest, and analysts have long urged transboundary initiatives to maintain wildlife movement and coordinate monitoring. A concise ecoregion overview is available from One Earth for readers seeking additional context, including protected areas on the Chinese and Tajik sides of the high plateau here.

How the Joint Lab Works in the Field

The joint lab’s teams move in small groups with spotting scopes and data sheets, logging species, coordinates, elevation, numbers, and weather. They also sit with herders to compare observations about where animals are seen and when. In a region where formal data are sparse, these interviews help map distribution and seasonal movement.

Researcher Wang Muyang described the cadence of these long surveys, which can stretch beyond ten days each season, and explained how local knowledge fills gaps in the record.

“We go on expeditions about once a quarter, usually more than 10 days at a time. We record species, altitude and numbers during surveys, and also interview herders to learn about local wildlife distribution,” said Wang Muyang of XIEG.

The teams collect scat to understand diet, a practical approach for elusive species in rugged terrain. Genetic and dietary analysis can reveal what plants ungulates depend on, where predators are ranging, and how seasonal forage changes might shift movement. Yang explained how this simple sample, properly processed, can support careful management.

“Through feces, we can analyze dietary composition and determine which plants animals prefer. This helps us design targeted conservation measures for endangered species,” said Yang.

Alongside animal surveys, botanist Li Wenjun and colleagues collect seeds and plant specimens year round, noting coordinates and habitat, then drying samples the same day to avoid decay. The pace can be exhausting, yet the goal is clear: build a reliable record of the flora that supports the plateau’s food webs.

“From a distance, we look like beggars; up close, we are scientists. We carry woven plastic bags because we collect so many specimens,” said Li Wenjun. “If we do not process leaves the same day, they wilt.”

Flagship Marco Polo Sheep: Can Fences Be Fixed and Corridors Kept Open?

The Marco Polo sheep is an icon of the Pamirs. Its sweeping horns are celebrated in travelogues and its long migrations tie the region together. The joint lab’s surveys, however, indicate that suitable habitat is increasingly fragmented. Border fencing, usually installed for security, now blocks movement in places where herds once crossed ridgelines and passes.

Yang said the consequence is stark. He warned that fragmentation pushes populations into smaller pockets and reduces genetic exchange. That leads to fewer lambs surviving, herds becoming isolated, and local disappearances over time.

“Fragmented habitats cause population decline. We have recommended modifying border fences to ensure cross border migration corridors remain open,” said Yang.

Peer reviewed research backs this assessment. A 2024 analysis using species distribution models and least cost paths identified dozens of ecological corridors for Marco Polo sheep in the Pamirs, including five that cross national boundaries. The same study evaluated different fencing scenarios and found a steep drop in potential passages under intensive fencing. In the most guarded case, just 25 permeable passages remained along the border. In the least restrictive scenario, the model identified 997 natural or potential crossing points. The authors argue that a network of transnational conservation parks and permeable zones at key chokepoints would help keep populations connected. Readers can review the abstract and methods via PubMed here.

Keeping corridors functional is a practical task. It can include redesigning fence segments near known routes, raising bottom wires so lambs can pass, and leaving steep, unfenced terrain as natural passages. It may also involve coordinated patrolling to reduce poaching at narrow crossings. The proposed Pamir Peace Park, long discussed by conservationists, captures the same idea at a larger scale: a shared conservation zone that recognizes how wildlife moves across the China, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Pakistan borders. The joint lab’s advisory notes to the Tajik government list specific areas where permeability would deliver immediate gains for Marco Polo herds.

Plants, Data, and a Digital Lifeline for Arid Biodiversity

Plants map the foundation of the Pamir food web. The joint lab is building a multilingual plant diversity database for Central Asia with entries in Chinese, Russian, and English, and an open access portal for researchers who need reliable records. The team plans to digitize one million specimens by 2026, then scale across Belt and Road partner countries by 2030. This archive doubles as a climate record, since labeled specimens show what grew where and when, and how distributions shift over decades.

Director Zhang Yuanming set an ambition that is both practical and symbolic. He described a bank of arid region bio resources that can preserve genetic material from plants adapted to heat and drought. He also noted that digitized specimens allow big data methods to detect trends in plant development and range changes linked to climate shifts.

“By digitally managing the plant specimens preserved in herbariums, we can use big data analysis to uncover trends in plant development amid climate change. We are building an arid region bio resource bank, like a Noah’s Ark for life in drylands,” said Zhang Yuanming, director of the institute.

Why does this matter for animals like Marco Polo sheep, ibex, and markhor? New modeling work shows that plant availability is a major predictor of ungulate distribution under climate change. When biotic interactions are included in species distribution models, forecasts for suitable range are more accurate and less pessimistic than models that ignore forage. Protected areas can serve as climatic refuges, yet less than half of current ranges fall inside them. Aligning herbarium data, field vegetation surveys, and ungulate movement can help planners place new protections where they will matter most. A recent analysis on plant ungulate interactions in Central Asia offers a technical overview for readers who want the modeling details here.

Fieldwork at 4,000 Meters: Grit, Trust, and Small Comforts

The science travels on human endurance. Researchers sleep in sheep pens on dried dung that is warm and, to their relief, free of insects. Language shifts between Chinese, Russian, and Tajik, with hand held translators lagging in mountain conditions. Days can pass without seeing an animal, then a herd appears and the long wait feels worth it.

Wang described the jolt when eyes finally pick movement along the snow line after hours of glassing empty slopes.

“Days can pass without seeing an animal. Then suddenly a herd appears, it feels like discovering a new world,” said Wang Muyang.

Shared meals lift spirits in a way that field manuals never capture. Team member Chen Chen explained that small rituals matter when temperatures drop and boots stay damp.

“In the field, naan bread with chili sauce is unbeatable,” said Chen Chen.

Conservation on a Regional Map, From the Aral Sea to Belt and Road Partners

The joint lab has widened its scope through partnerships with institutions in Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan. In August 2024, Chinese scientists launched a major expedition in Uzbekistan to study the dried bed of the Aral Sea, one of the world’s starkest environmental crises. The team is surveying biodiversity, soils, hydrology, and topography to draft a restoration and development roadmap for communities that now live on the former lake’s fringe. The work highlights an approach that crosses borders and disciplines, from wildlife connectivity to landscape level recovery.

In October 2024, the original collaboration was elevated to the China Tajikistan Belt and Road Joint Laboratory on Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Use. The change signals a broader mission, more partners, and the ability to pool data from across arid lands. Scientists involved expect more joint surveys, more student exchanges, and shared platforms that make data easier to use for park managers and local governments.

Funding Models and Local Incentives: A Tajik Perspective

Community led conservancies in Tajikistan offer a different lens on how to finance wildlife protection where tourism is limited and budgets are tight. In several Pamir districts, regulated trophy hunting of ungulates like markhor, ibex, urial, and Marco Polo sheep generates revenue that pays rangers, funds clinics and fences, and builds local support for wildlife. The practice is controversial, yet some Tajik programs report growth in prey populations and snow leopard presence where community rules are enforced and quotas are restricted.

Local accounts documented by conservation practitioners and journalists describe marked increases in Bukharan markhor on reserves that began in the mid 2000s. Reported fees for a single markhor permit can exceed one hundred thousand pounds. A portion flows directly to village institutions, which can be a lifeline where other jobs are scarce. Snow leopard surveys in these areas have recorded more cats over time, a trend linked to a healthier prey base and reduced poaching. A detailed narrative on how these conservancies work, including quotes from Tajik biologists and reserve managers, is available from the Guardian here.

These models do not transfer everywhere, and they require strict oversight to remain sustainable. The point for the Pamirs is that conservation lives or dies on community incentives. The joint lab’s outreach to herders, and its emphasis on data that can support compensation or preventive measures against livestock loss, reflects the same principle. Where people see direct benefits, wildlife has a chance to recover.

Genetics and Rare Carnivores: New Tools for Old Mountains

Conservation in the Pamirs is also moving into a genomic era. The argali, the largest wild sheep in Central and East Asia, has been declining under pressure from hunting, disease, and habitat loss. New research produced a chromosome level genome for the Tibetan subspecies with high completeness and accuracy. Scientists identified more than twenty one thousand protein coding genes and mapped sequences to 28 pseudo chromosomes. Population level resequencing across multiple subspecies provides a reference for disentangling taxonomy, identifying distinct units for protection, and tracking genetic health. That kind of foundation is essential for a flagship animal whose range crosses international boundaries.

High altitude carnivores are also under fresh scrutiny. Work on Himalayan wolves, sometimes called Tibetan wolves, finds that they likely diverged from other gray wolves in deep time and carry adaptations that help them process oxygen in thin air. Field teams working on snow leopard surveys in China, Nepal, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan have contributed scat samples that help clarify where these wolves live and how they overlap with snow leopards. Better understanding of these lineages can sharpen protection where rare genetics and human livelihoods meet.

Snow leopards remain classified as vulnerable on the Red List, even as sightings have increased in parts of the Qinghai Tibet Plateau and Tajik Pamirs. Threats persist where mining roads open access to remote valleys and where overgrazing reduces wild prey. Programs that pair livestock protection, such as predator proof corrals and deterrent lights, with compensation for losses have proven helpful. The joint lab’s focus on data sharing and community engagement sets the stage for such work where language and borders once kept teams apart.

What Cooperation Can Deliver Next

Scientists at the China Tajikistan lab say the essential step now is to turn field insights into policy, engineering, and shared management. Technical studies have mapped where fence permeability will pay the greatest dividends for Marco Polo sheep. Plant databases are nearing the scale where planners can overlay forage and migration to position new protections and adjust grazing. Regional expeditions are testing how science teams can help communities plan under climate stress, from glacier change to dust storms in the Aral Sea basin.

Abdusattor Samadovich Saidov, an academician of the National Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan and the Tajik director of the joint lab, framed the challenge in simple terms that apply from the Pamirs to other arid ranges.

“Biodiversity conservation is a global challenge, no single country can address it alone. Transboundary cooperation is crucial, particularly in regions like Central Asia, where species such as migratory birds and mammals traverse national borders,” said Saidov.

The collaboration is also about trust. Director Zhang has described how science connects people across languages and institutions. He argues that joint work on biodiversity, when paired with practical projects like corridor design and restoration plans, can protect ecological security and improve daily life for mountain communities.

Highlights

• China and Tajikistan formed a joint lab in March 2022 to study and protect Pamir biodiversity, later elevated in October 2024 to a Belt and Road platform.
• Quarterly expeditions survey Marco Polo sheep and other wildlife, gather scat for diet and genetic insights, and collect plant specimens for a multilingual database.
• Field data and a 2024 study indicate border fences are fragmenting Marco Polo sheep habitat and reducing transboundary movement; targeted fence modifications and corridors are advised.
• The plant database aims to digitize one million specimens by 2026, then expand regionally by 2030, supporting climate smart conservation.
• Researchers report harsh field conditions, language barriers, and long waits for sightings, balanced by strong team culture and local knowledge from herders.
• Regional projects include a science expedition to the dried Aral Sea basin to guide restoration and development planning.
• Community conservancies in Tajikistan use regulated trophy hunting revenues to finance protection of prey species and snow leopards, a model that requires strict oversight.
• New genomic resources for argali and research on Himalayan wolves are improving conservation targeting and understanding of high altitude adaptations.
• Partners emphasize transboundary cooperation to keep migration routes open, align data across borders, and translate science into management on the ground.