On July 9, 2025, the International Seminar

On July 9, 2025, an international seminar was held on the problems of sustainable development of tourism in the North Kazakhstan region and the experience of the formation of the tourism industry in various countries. The seminar was initiated and organized by researchers of the PCF program BR 24993222 "Building a decision support system for the natural and economic development of the territory of the North Kazakhstan region in the context of sustainable development" Biribay Elmira Sartaykyzy and Tusupova Bayan Khalelovna.

Q1 2025 Reporting Meeting

On April 25, 2025, a reporting meeting was held on the results of the first quarter of 2025 on the basis of the Kazakh National Agrarian Research University (KazNAIU) as part of the implementation of the BR 24993222 program "Building a decision support system for the natural and economic development of the territory of the North Kazakhstan region in the context of sustainable development."
During the meeting, the program coordinators heard reports from the heads of scientific groups in areas (land resources, labor resources, agroclimatic resources, water resources, ecology, subsoil use, tourism, land development, economic analysis, transport and communications, melt water, remote sensing and cartography, as well as other performers), including NPPCH named after A.I. Baraev.
Following the meeting, reports for the first quarter of 2025 were adopted and approved.

Workshop 29-30 May 2025

On May 29-30, 2025, a working seminar was held on the basis of the Kazakh National Agrarian Research University (KazNAIU) within the framework of the PFP IRN BR 24993222 program "Building a decision support system for the natural and economic development of the territory of the North Kazakhstan region in the context of sustainable development."
Seminar moderator - Ermekov Farabi Kerimbaevich, Executive Director of the Scientific and Educational Technological Platform KazNAIU, responsible executor of the Program. In his opening remarks, he noted that the purpose of cooperation between UNDP and KazNAIU is to promote integrated land use planning in the North Kazakhstan region using a landscape approach for sustainable regional development.
Seminar moderator - Ermekov Farabi Kerimbaevich, Executive Director of the Scientific and Educational Technological Platform KazNAIU, responsible executor of the Program. In his opening remarks, he noted that the purpose of cooperation between UNDP and KazNAIU is to promote integrated land use planning in the North Kazakhstan region using a landscape approach for sustainable regional development.
Within the framework of the seminar, presentations of current projects and initiatives of UNDP, as well as scientific areas of KazNAIU within the framework of the implementation of this program were presented. The possibilities of integrating solutions into the work of UNDP projects and joint work on a roadmap for interaction between UNDP and KazNAIU were discussed.
Following the seminar, the parties signed a memorandum of understanding between UNDP and KazNAIU.

Business trip to Lanzhou and Beijing

As part of the BR 24993222 program, "Developing a Decision Support System for the Natural and Economic Organization of the Territory of the North Kazakhstan Region in the Context of Sustainable Development," a group of scientists involved in the program, including Yermekov F.K., Imanmadi D., Kerimov U.K., Abdygaliev S.S., Bekturganov A.E., Karabkin N.N., and Seysenbikyzy B., were sent on a business trip to Lanzhou and Beijing, China, from December 8 to 16, 2024. The purpose of the trip: to discuss the 2025 project calendar plan and to reschedule some of the tasks initially planned for 2026 to 2025. These tasks include publishing articles, preparing materials for writing a monograph, and developing an educational program. During the trip, scientists from China and Kazakhstan reached a consensus on formulating joint tasks aimed at implementing the program's calendar plan and strategically planning future collaboration.

Working visit to the North Kazakhstan region on sustainable development issues

From November 5 to 10, 2024, a team of scientists from the Kazakh National Agrarian Research University conducted a business trip to Petropavl, North Kazakhstan region. The trip was organized within the framework of the program “Creation of a system to ensure solutions for the natural-economic development of the North Kazakhstan region under conditions of sustainable development” (BR 24993222).

Coordination meeting

On December 17, 2024, a coordination meeting was held at the Kazakh National Agrarian Research University within the framework of the IRN 24993222 PCF program "Building a decision support system for the natural and economic structure of the North Kazakhstan region in the context of sustainable development."
The meeting of the Coordinating Council was attended by the heads of 12 scientific groups in the areas of the KazNAIU program, representatives of Lanzhou University – Deputy Director of the One Belt, One Road Research Center Ruijun Long, Deputy Director of the Department of International Relations Xuejian Wang, scientists of the College of Earth and Environmental Sciences – Dr. Haijiang Yang, Professor Jie Gong, Dr. Zhengbang Ma, Consul for Technology and Science of the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Almaty Zhang Wei, representatives of A. I. Baraev NPCKH LLP - S. S. baisholanov, B. Zhumabek.

The sustainable development of rural areas is characterized, on the one hand, by significant natural resource limitations that shape long-term prospects, and on the other hand, by defining opportunities for the socio-economic development of rural communities, economic diversification, and environmental engineering. The research is based on the hypothesis that the North Kazakhstan region has low transportation, communication, social-demographic, and economic indicators, which together form an insufficient level of economic development in the region. It is expected to have relatively low indicators of economic resilience to natural-climatic, political, and economic fluctuations.

To achieve the set goals, various methods are planned to be applied, including geoinformation mapping, data normalization and aggregation methods, remote sensing using stereoscopic, multispectral, thermal, radar imaging, gravimetry, multi-criteria analytical modeling, analytical hierarchy processes, and the development of a decision support system.

Purpose of the Program:

• Development of the concept of natural and economic organization of the territory of the North Kazakhstan Region in the context of sustainable development.

Program Objectives:

To develop the concept of natural and economic organization of the region, the following objectives will be achieved:

1. Development of the conceptual foundations for organizing the North Kazakhstan Region based on the principles of sustainable growth. A review of global best practices will be conducted, key features of the region will be identified, and the most suitable foundations for territorial organization will be selected;
2. Analysis of global practices for the effective development of territories based on spatial and landscape planning — a review of best international experiences across several continents will be conducted, comparative analysis will be carried out, and conclusions and recommendations will be formulated;
3. Assessment of climatic, water, and land components of territorial development — natural and climatic conditions will be studied using modern technologies. An inventory of natural resources will be conducted, and previously developed technologies will be scaled up;
4. Assessment of labor resources as the foundation of socio-economic development — collection of data over the past 20 years, analysis of demographic and migration indicators, gender and age composition of the population, training in educational institutions, identification of trends, and forecasting the development of labor resources;
5. Assessment of transport and communication infrastructure and the availability of services — collection of materials, digitization in GIS, database creation, and evaluation of the condition, capacity, and accessibility of services;
6. Assessment of the economic efficiency of sustainable development of the studied territories — collection of data for the past 20 years, analysis of development trends, assessment of sustainability, forecasting, and organization of a multi-criteria analytical model;
7. Development of a series of digital maps on land use and land management for effective spatial and landscape organization — collection of cartographic materials, updating outdated maps using remote sensing (RS) and field surveys, digitization in a GIS environment, database formation, and creation of a series of digital maps;
8. Determining the optimal option for spatial and landscape planning of the territory, taking into account labor and land resources as well as the economic potential of the region — development of a Decision Support System (DSS), obtaining DSS recommendations, preparation of several planning options, comparative analysis, and selection of the most optimal option;
9. Development of a set of measures for sustainable growth of the North Kazakhstan Region based on linking the existing or new framework of settlements to land and water resources, with the identification of the necessary socio-economic conditions — obtaining DSS recommendations and development of a set of measures;
10. Development of a comprehensive program of spatial and landscape organization of the North Kazakhstan Region with scientifically substantiated measures in the context of sustainable development — obtaining DSS recommendations and development of a set of scientifically based activities.

• For 2024:
  The conceptual foundations for the arrangement of the North Kazakhstan Region based on the principles of sustainable growth will be developed, in particular:
  • A review of world scientific literature over the past at least five years will be conducted, highlighting global practices for developing conceptual frameworks for territorial arrangement.
  • A spatial database will be compiled, consolidating materials and data on the natural-climatic and socio-economic indicators of the North Kazakhstan Region.
  • A website will be developed providing complete information about the program, including the list of participants, publications, patents, and user resources.
• For 2025:
  • World practices for effective development of territories based on spatial and landscape planning will be analyzed.
  • Climatic, water, and land components of territorial development will be assessed.
  • Labor resources will be evaluated as the foundation of socio-economic development.
  • Transport and communication capabilities and the availability of services will be assessed.
  • The economic efficiency of sustainable development of the studied territories will be evaluated.
  • A series of digital maps on land use and land management will be created.
  • Spatial and landscape planning options will be developed taking into account the region’s resources.
  • One publication will be issued in a highly rated international journal and eight in journals recommended by the Committee for Quality Assurance in Science and Higher Education (CQASHE / KOKNVO).
• For 2026:
  • A comparative analysis will be carried out, and the optimal option for spatial and landscape planning will be selected.
  • A comprehensive set of measures for sustainable regional growth will be developed, linking settlements to natural resources.
  • A set of spatial and landscape development measures with scientifically substantiated solutions will be elaborated.
  • Methodologies, guidelines, and recommendations for the Regional Development Program will be developed.
  • Curricula for at least ten disciplines will be updated, and three new disciplines will be developed.
  • A working curriculum for a new educational program will be created.
  • Eight articles will be published in peer-reviewed journals and two in those recommended by CQASHE (KOKNVO).
  • A monograph providing an in-depth study of land development issues will be published.
  • A seminar will be held to present the research results.
  • Patents will be obtained, and intellectual property objects will be registered.
  • At least one result will be registered as a Research and Development Outcome (RNNTD).
  • The program website will be updated with achieved results.

Calendar plan for 2025

Calendar plan for 2024–2026

Report for 2024

Within the program, an analysis of global practices for efficient land development using spatial-landscape arrangement will be conducted. Climate, water, and land resources will be evaluated using modern GIS and remote sensing technologies, including stereoscopic, multispectral, thermal satellite imagery, radar sensing, and gravimetry.

A multi-criteria analytical model will also be organized, incorporating information layers of retrospective and forecast data in time differentiation for labor resources, transport, and communication opportunities, as well as economic efficiency of sustainable development in the studied territories. Based on the obtained data, a series of digital maps for land use and spatial planning will be developed, and the optimal option for spatial-landscape planning will be determined.

The program includes the development of an adaptive concept for the sustainable development of the natural and economic structure of the North Kazakhstan region. This concept includes a set of measures ensuring effective risk management in the context of climate change, geopolitical and economic conditions, as well as natural disasters that negatively impact the region's development and its ecosystem.

One of the key features of the program is the scaling of previously developed land-use technologies (based on GIS, remote sensing, and process-analytical hierarchy methods), creating conditions for the development of irrigated agriculture using meltwater in the North Kazakhstan region, and the establishment of a decision support system (DSS) for regional planning and spatial arrangement.

The DSS will include three specialized modules:

• Potential of land use
• Risks associated with pollution and geotechnical hazards
• Data related to the assessment of economic viability of existing facilities

The program implementation will ensure:

• Methodology for creating digital relief models (DRM) and terrain models (DTM) based on up-to-date and large-scale data
• Organization of a multi-criteria analytical model
• Development of a decision support system for regional planning

As part of the implementation of the program, the following publications and results are planned:

• 9 (nine) articles and/or reviews in peer-reviewed scientific journals within the program's scientific direction, included in the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd quartile by impact factor in the Web of Science database and/or with a CiteScore percentile of at least 50 in the Scopus database.
• 10 (ten) articles in journals recommended by the Committee for Control in Education and Science (CCES).
• 1 (one) monograph recommended by the KazNAIU Academic Council.
• 5 (five) intellectual property objects (patent; for IT-related applications — copyright certificate) registered with the National Institute of Intellectual Property of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Useful information for potential users: