Where Trees Become Forests
Restoring Kazakhstan’s landscapes at scale
About QazForest
QazForest is a Kazakhstan-based nonprofit developing long-term forest and landscape restoration projects across the country. We identify suitable land, design locally appropriate restoration models, and build the partnerships, financing and monitoring needed for lasting results.
Why restoration matters
Kazakhstan’s landscapes are under growing pressure
- Forest degradationForest-covered land accounts for only about 5% of Kazakhstan, making the protection and successful restoration of existing forest landscapes especially important.
- Wildfire damageKazakhstan’s dry climate makes forest fires a persistent threat. Burned areas require planned restoration, protection and years of maintenance.
- Land degradationVegetation loss affects forests, pasturelands and hayfields, with some of the most severe degradation occurring around settlements and heavily used grazing areas.
- Climate stressMore frequent severe droughts are expected to intensify land degradation, desertification and dust storms across Kazakhstan.
Why QazForest?
We choose the right sites
We assess the land, its condition and what restoration can realistically achieve there. Not every site needs the same solution.
We design for the landscape
We choose species, planting methods and protection measures around the site itself — not a standard template.
We restore and stay involved
We manage site preparation, planting and early care, then continue protecting and maintaining the area. Planting is only the beginning.
We track what works
We follow survival, growth and ecological recovery over time. The results shape what we do next.
We test and learn
As we work across more sites, comparable areas can be used to test different methods and learn which approaches perform best under local conditions.
We build the Atlas
Every site adds to the QazForest Atlas — what was tried, where, and how it performed. Over time, that becomes a shared record of restoration across Kazakhstan.
We scale what works
The strongest methods move forward to larger projects and new sites. What does not work is changed or left behind.
QazForest Atlas
Interactive map of forest cover, land cover and restoration activity across Kazakhstan.
Data: JRC GFC2020, Sentinel-2 2025, NASA FIRMS, Kazakhstan BNS | Updated: August 2026
Data: JRC GFC2020, Sentinel-2 2025, NASA FIRMS, Kazakhstan BNS | Updated: August 2026