Abstract
Presented paper deals with the environmental protection problems on the example of the project of the State Natural Reserve ‘Bokeyorda’ in West Kazakhstan region. During the development and implementation of the project the main goal was to assess the impact of natural and anthropogenic factors on the unique natural ecosystems and their biological diversity. The natural conditions were investigated and the key plant and animal species were identified, their current status and the human impact were evaluated as well as recommendations for the conservation of species and their habitats were made. Based on the ecosystem analysis and GIS technology the most important areas for biodiversity conservation were revealed, the Reserve boundaries were defined, zoning of functional areas were performed and maps were prepared.