Kolsai Kolderi Biosphere Reserve

UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, inscribed 2021, in Kazakhstan. Kolsai Kolderi lies on the northern Tien Shan mountain range in south-eastern Kazakhstan, mainly covering the Kungei Alatau range, with a smaller portion on the Trans-Ili Alatau range, from about 800 to 3,800 m. Broad uplands, jagged ridgelines and deep valleys frame a chain of lakes – Lower, Middle and Upper Kolsai, and Kaindy – formed by earthquake-triggered slides. The biosphere reserve conserves this full mountain–lake system and its Tien Shan endemics, safeguards glacier- and snow-fed headwaters and microclimate, restores forests and rangelands and supports low-impact livelihoods through zoning and managed nature-based tourism.