On 18 May 2026, a high-level event dedicated to the International Day of the Markhor was held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The Day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly following the initiative of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan, His Excellency Emomali Rahmon.
The event was co-organized by the Republic of Tajikistan, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
In his keynote address, Mr. Bahodur Sheralizoda, Chairman of the Committee for Environmental Protection under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan, highlighted the vital role of the markhor in maintaining the health, balance, and resilience of mountain ecosystems.
Chairman emphasized Tajikistan’s remarkable conservation success, noting that the national markhor population has increased from around 300 animals in the 1990s to more than 7000 today. This recovery, achieved through consistent conservation measures, field monitoring, community-based protection, and responsible wildlife management, demonstrates that biodiversity conservation and local socio-economic development can successfully reinforce one another.
Looking ahead, Tajikistan proposed exploring the possibility of hosting the International Day of the Markhor as a global event in Dushanbe in May 2027.
The event concluded with a call to strengthen regular scientific monitoring, expand transboundary cooperation, and invest in youth environmental education, reaffirming the shared commitment to preserving fragile mountain biodiversity for future generations.
