Ecological monitoring of the biodiversity sustainability in the regions of Southern Kazakhstan during observed drought

Environmental protection assessment is one of the main procedures in the sustainable environment planning process, and therefore, paying attention to it in policymaking and planning is inevitable. The present study was conducted to measure and evaluate the level of environmental sustainability in the southern region of Kazakhstan. In this study, some geographical, biodiversity, and environmental assessments were conducted by extracting information on precipitation, temperature, and drought in the study area. So, in the first step, the indicators affecting the environment in the four main branches of atmosphere, water, soil, and biodiversity were evaluated from the perspective of experts. The results show that, due to recent droughts, the environmental criteria of atmosphere and water are of the highest importance. It was also indicated that the southern regions of Kazakhstan are in a semi-stable and relatively unstable position in terms of environmental sustainability and require greater priority for implementing targeted and sustainable development programs for environmental diversity.