Anara Alymkulova

Regional Representative for West and Central Asia and the Caucasus

Anara Alymkulova is a researcher and community practitioner with over 15 years of experience working with Indigenous Peoples and local communities in Central Asia. She is the Executive Director of the Institute for Sustainable Development Strategy (ISDS), an organization that has been an ICCA Consortium member since 2020. Her work focuses on traditional knowledge systems, customary governance, and biocultural diversity. She holds a Master of Social Work (MSW) from Michigan State University, specializing in community organization and development.

Under her leadership, ISDS has managed over 350 local initiatives in Kyrgyzstan focused on community-led conservation, traditional ecological knowledge, sustainable pastoralism, and climate resilience. She initiated the development of the “Nasiyat” Network for Biocultural Diversity, which connects more than 60 NGOs and traditional knowledge holders across 51 villages and 16 rural municipalities in Kyrgyzstan.