The vast expanse of Central Asia holds some of the world’s largest untouched spaces. The grasslands, semi-deserts, and high mountain ranges which make up the majority of the regions ecosystems have given rise to some of the most weird and wonderful species on earth, such as the Saiga antelope pictured above. Central Asia has in some ways managed to fall off the map, as mainstream international press coverage, with the exception of Afghanistan, is limited to the occasional snippet on strange regimes, military build-ups punctuated by the intermittent arrival of naturalists and wildlife filmmakers. Beyond the borders of the various ‘stans’ that make up Central Asia little is really known of the region after being hidden behind the iron curtain for much of the 20th Century and only recently transitioning into a mixture of authoritarian regimes that are almost as insular. This has left environmentalists and naturalists scrambling around trying to figure out the state of biodiversity in nations that to this day are not always willing to take in visitors with open arms. However, looks can be deceiving as nations which were once so reclusive are beginning to open the doors just a crack and with that we can gain a glimpse into how the indigenous wildlife is faring and what the various challenges are to their survival. This mini report provides an overview of how our presence in Central Asia is impacting on the natural world and presents three regional case studies; Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Afghanistan to illustrate biodiversity in a national context.