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The EU Today Research Desk has released a new policy white paper assessing the environmental, legal and governance implications of the China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan (CKU) railway for snow leopards and high-mountain ecosystems in Kyrgyzstan.
Titled Vanishing Tracks: The Snow Leopard and the China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan Railway, the report is authored by Gary Cartwright and was first published in Brussels in December 2025.
The paper examines a project framed by its backers as a strategic overland corridor linking Kashgar in China’s Xinjiang region with Andijan in Uzbekistan, via Kyrgyzstan’s mountainous interior. In the report’s account, the railway’s purpose is primarily transit-focused, with the implication that the most intensive construction impacts are concentrated inside Kyrgyz territory while freight flows are expected to pass through the country.
A core focus is the snow leopard (Panthera uncia), which the paper describes as a flagship species for Central Asia’s high-altitude ecosystems and a key indicator of ecological connectivity across mountain landscapes. The report notes that Kyrgyzstan is a core range state for the species and references recent national population work carried out between 2020 and 2024 using large-scale camera-trap and modelling methods.
The white paper also points to Kyrgyzstan’s domestic conservation framework. It states that the Red Data Book of the Kyrgyz Republic lists the snow leopard as a rare and declining species in need of special protection, and that this status is relevant when assessing the acceptability of habitat loss or fragmentation linked to major infrastructure.
The report further cites national legal provisions requiring protection of Red Data Book species under Kyrgyzstan’s fauna legislation.
On the engineering profile, the paper describes the CKU railway as a high-risk linear infrastructure project in challenging terrain. It sets out widely reported figures indicating a total route length of about 520–530 kilometres, with roughly 200–280 kilometres located within Kyrgyzstan, running through Naryn and Jalal-Abad regions.
The Kyrgyz segment is described as unusually tunnel- and bridge-intensive, with three base tunnels of approximately 12–13 kilometres each, as well as “dozens” of shorter tunnels and snow galleries and multiple bridges and viaducts in narrow valleys.
The paper links these construction characteristics to a set of potential ecological pressures in mountain landscapes where movement corridors can be constrained by topography. It identifies likely impact pathways including habitat fragmentation and disruption of connectivity, disturbance effects during construction and operation, prey displacement or depletion, and increased human access into remote areas that can affect wildlife crime risks.
A significant portion of the report addresses transparency and assessment standards. It states that, as of mid-2025, a complete Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the Kyrgyz section had not been released in full in Kyrgyz or Russian, and that detailed alignment and engineering documentation had not been formally disclosed. The report argues that this restricts independent scrutiny and increases reliance on partial statements and secondary reporting rather than primary technical documentation.
The report also outlines construction status as described in publicly available sources. It states that formal groundbreaking took place in December 2024 in Jalal-Abad, with senior representatives of China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan present, and that construction began in early 2025 with tunnel excavation initiated in sections of Naryn region.
On population evidence, the paper cites a PAWS-compliant national estimate coordinated under the Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Programme, based on more than 875 camera traps deployed over roughly 125,000 km² of potential habitat. It reports an estimated national population of 234–349 snow leopards, with an average estimate of 285 individuals.
The report uses this estimate to frame the sensitivity of habitat fragmentation and corridor disruption where individuals move between protected areas and wider pastoral landscapes.
The white paper situates the CKU project within Kyrgyzstan’s international obligations and policy commitments. It highlights conventions it considers engaged by the project, including the Convention on Biological Diversity, CITES, and the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), noting in particular that the snow leopard is listed under CMS Appendix I and that parties are obliged to conserve habitats and prevent factors that impede movement across the species’ transboundary range.
It also links governance questions to Kyrgyzstan’s participation in the EU’s GSP+ scheme, where implementation of environmental conventions is a monitoring theme in the report’s analysis.
Financing and accountability are treated as additional variables shaping safeguards. The paper cites cost estimates of approximately US$4.5–4.7 billion and describes a frequently cited project-company model under which China would hold 51 per cent and Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan 24.5 per cent each, alongside expectations of Chinese state-linked financing and implementation.
It notes that the Asian Development Bank has been approached as a potential co-financier, and that any involvement would entail application of its environmental and social safeguard requirements, including consultation and monitoring.
The report’s recommendations focus on measures it presents as necessary to reduce ecological and compliance risks. These include publication of consolidated assessment documentation and route-level engineering information, evaluation of alternatives, and integration of design and mitigation approaches intended to maintain connectivity in sensitive mountain corridors.
Download the full white paper (PDF) here.
