On February 20, 2026, a meeting of naturalists, nature enthusiasts, and scientists dedicated to the study of Kazakhstan’s biodiversity took place. Participants discussed the use of photo observations in scientific research, summarized the competition results, and outlined plans for 2026.
For the third consecutive year, naturalists and researchers gathered in the conference hall of the Institute of Botany and Phytointroduction to summarize the results of the annual citizen science competition on inventorying the flora and fauna of our country — “Biodiversity of Kazakhstan 2025” — and to outline future plans.
Welcoming remarks were delivered by Gulnara T. Sitpayeva, Director General of the Institute of Botany and Phytointroduction, and Marina A. Chirikova, Deputy Director General for Science of the Institute of Zoology.
The competition coordinator, Alexander Dubynin, a researcher at the Institute of Botany and Phytointroduction, noted a significant increase in activity over the past year:
- a 38% increase in verified observations – up to 50,917;
- a 23% increase in recorded species – up to 3,920;
- the share of records achieving Research Grade approached 60%.
“At the same time, the competition highlighted an important feature of the platform’s work: a significant proportion of data and identifications is provided by a relatively small core of the most active participants and experts. In addition, many ‘white spots’ remain on the country’s map, emphasizing the need to intensify research in poorly studied regions of Kazakhstan.”
All observations were uploaded to iNaturalist.org. After identification to species level and obtaining Research Grade status, the data were automatically transferred to the global biodiversity aggregator GBIF and became available for scientific analysis.
Participants emphasized that the citizen science competition on the iNaturalist platform continues to unite researchers, naturalists, and nature enthusiasts across the country. Thanks to photo observations and collaborative community work, a valuable database on the flora and fauna of Kazakhstan is being created.
Take part in the “Biodiversity of Kazakhstan – 2026” competition: photograph flora and fauna, upload your observations to iNaturalist, and contribute to the study of your native land!
24.02.2024