Preservation of biodiversity ^{GRI 304-1}

The main ecosystems of the KOGCF include three broad categories: agricultural ecosystems, steppe ecosystems, aquatic and riverine ecosystems. Moreover, the remainder of the field area is occupied by anthropogenic areas: roads, production facilities and infrastructure.

The KOGCF area is a home to a big variety of plant and animal species, amongst there are species red-listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), by Qazaqstan, and species rare at the KOGCF. It is important for KPO to consider the presence of these species when planning or undertaking operations in the area, but it is not appropriate to consider their presence or numbers as indicators of the Company’s environmental performance. This is because the species population is subject to changes that may occur due to forces operating at global or landscape scales and are not related directly to the KPO operations. Any fluctuations in the abundance of these species would need to be seen in a wider context of trends in a species population. In its turn, KPO strives to undertake its operations in such a way as not to cause direct or indirect impacts on individual species populations. In the process of monitoring the flora and fauna at the Karachaganak field being conducted since 2011, no any negative effect on the flora and fauna species’ habitats from the KPO’s production activities has been observed.

In 2021 as part of monitoring of key species of fauna number, a thorough survey of abundance and habitats of river beaver (castor fiber) species was carried out. In the spring of 2021, a decrease in the number of beaver settlements was recorded compared to previous periods.

Despite the reduction, a number of beavers in the spring period remains higher compared to the surrounding area of the region. When monitoring beavers in 2021, both in the spring and autumn periods, the water level in most reservoirs was extremely low, some ponds dried up, which affected the habitat conditions and number of beavers. The most likely relocation of beavers is to the vast reservoir on Berezovka river, most of which is not included in the research area.

KPO will continue to monitor the population of beavers living on the KOGCF area.

As a specially controlled species of flora, KPO keeps records of the population dynamics of the Russian hazel grouse (Fritillaria ruthenica), a rare species confined to the territory of the water protection zone. Discovered in 2022, the population of Russian hazel grouse was recorded in the phase of sustainable mass fruiting. When monitoring the state of the species, no signs of the influence of the deposit on the population of the Russian hazel grouse were found.

The main significant species of great importance for the ecosystem, recorded at the KOGCF during the studies of 1990-2022 are shown in the table below. All these species are also found outside of the KOGCF.

Essential flora and fauna species recorded along the KATS route ^{GRI 304-4}

As a result of the field study conducted in 2023 in flora baseline study and vegetation sampling spots located along the Karachaganak-Atyrau oil pipeline route and the adjacent territory, key flora species listed in the table below were recorded.

Key species essential for ecosystem along the KATS route within WKO boundaries recorded in 2023.

 

The following categories are used in the table:

 

• NT: Near Threatened — usually species whose population are declining to the extent that they will soon qualify for a higher IUCH threat category (International Union for the Conservation of Nature).
• VU: Vulnerable — these include the species with high risk of extinction in the wild.
• LC: Least concern — species evaluated against the IUCN criteria that do not qualify for Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable or Near Threatened. Widespread and abundant taxa are included in this category (species in this group are not included in the count of internationally rare species).
• KRDB: Qazaqstan Red Data Book — species that are recognized as nationally rare in the Red Data Book of Qazaqstan, Roman numerals indicate the various rarity categories with Category I — the rarest species, and Category V — the least rare.