 Lars Lachmann (RPSB)
More than 40% of the Central Asian flyway population of Endangered White-headed Duck use the Tengiz-Korgalzhyn region of Central Kazakhstan.
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Kazakhstan study helps to identify wealth of new IBAs
07-03-2008
Filling in the gaps - knowledge is power…
Identifying Important Bird Areas (IBAs), and ensuring their long-term protection, cannot be achieved without detailed information of the bird populations occurring within them. This was highlighted by a study published this month in BirdLife’s journal Bird Conservation International. The authors produced new data from Kazakhstan highlighting the importance of land surrounding the protected Korgalzhynskiy nature reserve[1]. This new information has been used to include the wider area in a new inventory of IBAs in Central Asia, which identifies 124 IBAs covering more than 16,000,000 ha in Kazakhstan alone.
"Our monitoring work made clear that this site is truly outstanding and that the area crucial for the survival of breeding and migratory birds extends far beyond the borders of the existing reserve" —Lars Lachmann - RSPB (BirdLife in the UK)
The study took place in and around the protected Korgalzhynskiy reserve. It is a vast area of mosaic wetland and grassland located in the Tengiz-Korgalzhyn region of Central Kazakhstan. The study discovered that more than 40% of the entire flyway populations of Endangered White-headed Duck Oxyura leucocephala and Vulnerable Dalmatian Pelican Pelecanus crispus occurred within this exceptional region for birds.
A total of 72 individual wetlands surveyed within the area fulfilled IBA criteria. Each of these sites supported more than 20,000 waterbirds, or more than 1% of the Central Asian flyway populations. However, 42 of them fell outside the Korgalzhynskiy reserve.
Co-author on the report, Lars Lachmann RSPB Conservation Programme Officer (Birdlife in the UK) commented: “It was long known that the Korgalzhynskiy reserve is a good site for birds, but our monitoring work made clear that this site is truly outstanding and that the area crucial for the survival of breeding and migratory birds extends far beyond the borders of the existing reserve. Continued monitoring will be needed to flag-up population changes over time to allow our local partners to effectively conserve the sites in the area".
It is this new knowledge that helped to identify many of the region's sites in the new IBA inventory. The new Central Asian IBA list is being finished this week, and will be launched towards the end of the year.
Human activities are restricted within the Korgalzhynskiy reserve – which is designated a strict nature reserve and Ramsar site. The area outside the reserve was previously cultivated for arable crops, but is now 80% abandoned following the removal of agricultural subsidies. Conservation threats to the bird populations are water quantity and management and hunting.
Following the study’s results, and the identification of IBAs covering all important sites of the area, it is now most important to address these threats. The Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity (ACBK; BirdLife contact organisation in Kazakhstan) and the RSPB have been working with the government to develop a conservation plan for the core reserve. A long-term conservation strategy for the newly identified IBAs outside the reserve still needs to be developed.
 Lars Lachmann (RPSB)
A flock of Greater White-fronted Goose in the Korgalzhynskiy reserve, Central Kazakhstan.
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"The WOW workshop aims to further identify holes in our combined waterbird knowledge within this key flyway for migratory birds" —Dr Lincoln Fishpool - BirdLife’s Global IBA Co-ordinator
The paper’s publication, and new IBA inventory, coincides with a workshop held in Georgia this week entitled ‘Gap-filling and Waterbird Monitoring in Central Asia’. Presenting at the meeting, BirdLife’s Global IBA Co-ordinator, Dr Lincoln Fishpool, explained its purpose is to: “further identify holes in our combined waterbird knowledge within this key flyway for migratory birds”. The workshop is being organised by the Wings Over Wetlands (WOW) Project, which seeks to enhance international conservation efforts for migratory waterbirds. BirdLife International, Wetlands International and UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre are major partners in the project.
By sharing information and continuing our monitoring activities, the Kazakh study, IBA inventory and WOW workshop remind us that when it comes to conserving the world’s birds - knowledge really is power.
Bird Conservation International is the official journal of BirdLife International. It provides stimulating, up-to-date coverage of bird conservation topics important in today's world. For more information: BirdLife: Bird Conservation International
[1] Waterbird population estimates for a key staging site in Kazakhstan: a contribution to wetland conservation on the Central Asian flyway HOLGER SCHIELZETH, GO¨ TZ EICHHORN, THOMAS HEINICKE, JOHANNES, KAMP, MAXIM A. KOSHKIN, ALEXEJ V. KOSHKIN and LARS LACHMANN Bird Conservation International (2008) 18:71-86.
Credits: Bird Conservation International