When Sandugash and Zhumabek, a husband and wife team of state natural park rangers, arrived at their new home, there was no electricity. The ranger house was in a remote area of the Kolsai Kolderi National Park in the Northern Tien Shan Mountains, where they were stationed to more closely monitor and protect the unique biodiversity of the park.
The Kolsai Kolderi National Park is one of the five largest parks of Kazakhstan, covering 161,000 hectares. Due to its unique biodiversity, the park is included in the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves.
Picturesque mountain landscapes, high-altitude lakes and a multitude of rare red-list animals and rare plants make it a jewel of a natural environment.
Safeguarding this beautiful and unique locale requires near or on-site presence.
Almost year round, the spouses live and work together in this remote area. Zhumabek began his work in the national park in 2010 as a state inspector in the environmental protection department. When he was sent to a cordon to patrol natural areas, Sandugash decided to follow. Eventually, she became a park state ranger herself.
After 13 years at this, Zhumabek is very accustomed to remote mountain sites and knows every slope, gorge and trail by heart.
"We work almost around the clock, but we both love nature and our national park, so it's a joy to work here," he says.
Six inspectors work there with them, but only Sandugash and Zhumabek reside there permanently. Together they patrol 4,650 hectares, ensuring compliance with environmental regulations, extinguishing fires, conducting wildlife observations and assisting in scientific research.
Of the park’s 126 staff, most live in three nearby villages, including Saty village where Sandugash and Zhumabek lived with their six children and grandchildren.
The first year was challenging, with practically no electricity in the house. Living and working conditions were difficult at best, and dire during winter, with such short daylight hours.
“We lived for days without electricity. We lit the stove by candlelight, we cooked and ate by candlelight, and left the room in the darkness," recalls Sandugash.
Surveillance technologies and walkie-talkies are essential for their work, the latter sometimes the only source of communication between state inspectors and the central office, especially when patrolling the vast and hard-to-reach national park areas. Sometimes Zhumabek and his colleagues have to travel to the village to charge their equipment, but poor road infrastructure and long distances hampers the quality of their duty and creates a loophole for poachers who are usually fully armed.
"We work in all weather conditions, including snow and hail. Often we travel for two to three days to hard-to-reach areas, involving sharp changse in temperature and atmospheric pressure. This makes communication very important, sometimes our lives depend on it," Zhumabek explains.
Lack of electricity is an urgent problem in remote regions of Kazakhstan, including in protected areas. The solution – the introduction of renewable energy sources – also happens to be environmentally friendly since it doesn’t emit carbon dioxide and other pollutants into the atmosphere.
Earlier this year, a UNDP project with GEF financing started installing modern wind and solar power stations in remote areas of the Kolsai Kolderi park, including the ranger house where Sandugash and Zhumabek live.
Living conditions for the two have vastly improved.
“We can watch TV, each room has lighting, and, most importantly, we have constant radio communication with the central office. We can recuperate after heavy shifts. Our mood has definitely improved!” Zhumabek admits.
Rangers can save time on wood collection; their example also helps influence people living around protected areas who usually log trees for energy purposes. Solar stations may also be used for pumping water for drinking and watering backyard gardens; the small farming helps avoid commuting long distances to food markets.
The better living conditions means Sandugash and Zhumabek are refreshed in time for the tourist season.
Kolsai Kolderi National Park is popular in Kazakhstan, drawing over 200,000 tourists each year. Despite explaining the “nature” code of conduct to vacationers, fires are still not uncommon in natural areas. "We pay special attention to fire safety. Unfortunately, tourist negligence means fires do occur, but we quickly extinguish them," says Sandugash.
Vacationers also leave their rubbish around the park, so state inspectors carry out garbage collection campaigns in the national park to keep it clean.
But Sandugash and Zhumabek, along with their fellow inspectors, are dedicated to protecting the park. The introduction of the wind-solar systems, which the UNDP-GEF project continues to install in 18 other protected areas and forestries in Kazakhstan, have had a positive impact on the conservation of unique biodiversity and ecosystems. They have also served as inspiration to residents of local villages in the buffer zones, some also not connected to electric grids, as a showcase of solar’s feasibility.
© 2026 United Nations Development Programme
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