The Badghyz and Karabil semi-desert ecoregion (WWF ID: PA1306) covers the hills north of the central mountain ranges of Afghanistan, southeast Turkmenistan, and portions of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

The landscape has been described as "savannah-like" and reminiscent of Africa,[1] with desert sedges (Carex) and stands of wild pistachio trees (Pistacia vera).

Throughout the region are large depressions of dried salt pans, supporting salt-tolerant plants.

[5] Biodiversity is high in the region, as the climate is relatively mild, and the location is in a transition zone that supports both Iranian-Afghan and Central Asian floral communities.

[5] The region supports important populations of large mammals, such as the near-threatened Asiatic wild ass (Onager) and the Goitered gazelle.