Tajik National Park is a national park and nature reserve in eastern Tajikistan. It was established in 1992 and expanded in 2001 to include parts of the Pamir Mountains. The park covers 26,116.74 km2 or a little over 18 percent of Tajikistan's total area.

History

From 1989 to 1992, Anvar J. Buzurukov (as the head of the Protected Areas Department of the Ministry of the Environment) initiated, planned and led (under the international scientific camp "Pamir-90") scientific feasibility studies towards establishing the first national and natural parks in the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic. An area of 12000 km2 was designated Tajik National Park by Decision No. 267 of the Tajikistan government on 20 July 1992. A year before the same team established the first nature reserve in Tajikistan, Shirkent Nature Park. In 2001 the area of Tajik National Park was increased to 26,116.74 km2 by the Order of the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan No. 253.

Ecology and wildlife

The national park features a mix of steppe, desert, grassland and alpine regions. It has long cold winters and cool summers, with an average annual rainfall of 12.7 cm. Species known to live in the national park include the brown bear, snow leopard, wolves, markhor, Marco Polo sheep, brown-headed gulls and bar-headed geese.

World Heritage status

In 2008, the national park was submitted to UNESCO with a view to becoming a World Heritage Site. In 2013, the park was accepted as World Heritage.