Merke sanctuary

The Merke sanctuary is a state nature reserve of about 68,900 hectares in Merke district, Zhambyl region, established on 5 May 2016 to protect a section of the northern slopes of the Kyrgyz Range (Kyrgyz Ala-Too) along Kazakhstan's border with Kyrgyzstan. The reserve covers mountain gorges and foothill terrain typical of this stretch of the Tian Shan system, including the valley around Merke town itself, which gives the sanctuary its name. Its purpose is to protect the mountain and foothill ecosystems of the range from unregulated use, preserving habitat that spans from steppe foothills to higher mountain terrain. Together with the neighboring Korday-Zhaysan and Zhualy-Karashat sanctuaries, which protect other sections of the same mountain front, Merke forms part of a chain of reserves along the Kyrgyz Range meant to keep its slopes and gorges largely natural.