Environmental Crimes Cost Kazakhstan 3 Billion Tenge In Four Months

Environmental crimes in Kazakhstan are becoming increasingly costly. In January–April this year alone, the amount of confirmed damage reached three billion tenge. A year earlier, during the same period, the figure was almost half as much — about 1.5 billion tenge, Orda.kz reports, citing Finprom analysts.

According to the data, 740 environmental criminal offenses were registered in Kazakhstan in the first four months of the year. Most often, these involved illegal hunting, poaching, illegal fishing, deforestation, and other crimes against nature.

At the same time, researchers noted that the number of such crimes is not always directly linked to the amount of damage. Even a small number of cases can cause losses of hundreds of millions of tenge, especially when rare animals, illegal extraction of natural resources, or large-scale damage to ecosystems are involved.

Analysts say the problem remains chronic. According to their estimates, since 2017, environmental criminals have caused Kazakhstan around 3.5 billion tenge in damage annually. At the same time, only a small share of these losses is compensated.

Experts noted that the fight against environmental crimes often begins only after nature has already been harmed.

Original author: Elvira Ivannikova

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