The cartoon has been produced with the support of the project ‘Mainstreaming Biodiversity into Uzbekistan’s Oil-and-Gas sector Policies and Operations’ jointly implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the State Committee for Nature Protection of the Republic of Uzbekistan. The event was conducted with the support of the UN Information Centre.

In past decades the world population of saiga antelopes declined by more than 95 per cent, the highest rate of decline among mammals. The only area in Uzbekistan where saiga antelopes can come for winter is the Ustyurt plateau. The threat of their extinction was recognized by the nation in 2008, when they were included in the Red Book of the Republic of Uzbekistan as vulnerable declining.

Since that time, measures have been undertaken to protect these animals in Uzbekistan. One such measure has been to raise public awareness of the issue, and the recently-premiered cartoon “The Steppe Tale” has been designed to attract the attention of both children and their parents. The idea of the cartoon is that saigas need to be protected, and this idea has been presented in a child-friendly way.

In order to maximize the cartoon’s effect, it was decided that children should be actively engaged in its production. The participatory cartoon consists of two elements, a section of animation and a play performed by children. The animation section utilized drawings made by the children of ‘Yangi Forum avlodi’ (Forum of a new generation) and ‘Barkamol avlod’ (Comprehensively Advanced Generation) art studios of Tashkent, School of music and art N 15 of Tashkent and school N 54 of the Jaslyk village, Kungrad district of Karakalpakstan, while children from Kyrk-Kyz village located on the Ustyurt plateau were invited to participate in live-action sections as shot in their village.

In order to reach a wide audience the cartoon was prepared in Uzbek, Russian and English. Children studying at the Tashkent International School assisted in providing English voiceovers. Not only did these students and their peers from other Tashkent schools offer their talents to the project, but they also increased their knowledge regarding the issue being discussed. One student participating in the voice over project, Bekhrona Sayfullayeva, said she enjoyed producing the cartoon and hoped that the saiga antelopes could be conserved.

On the 15 March the cartoon was screened to the public for the first time. It was important that the first people who saw the cartoon were children, especially the children whose parents work in the oil and gas industry and within the sphere of environmental protection.

The oil and gas companies who currently work on the Ustyurt plateau have the potential to contribute to the conservation of the saiga, and so it is important that the industry’s employees and their families can discuss the matter. The fact that children and adults saw the film together, and then discussed its content, presented an important opportunity for education regarding the need to respect nature. For the participating parents, this screening shows once again that in matters related to nature protection, it is important for adults to be strong role models for children.