Key Biodiversity Areas

Vaygach island (1510)
Russia (Central Asian), Central Asia

Site overview


KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: A1bA1dB1D1a
Year of last assessment: 2000
National site name: Ostrov Vaygach
Central coordinates: Latitude: 70.0389, Longitude: 59.4269
System: marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 170
Area of KBA (km2): 4119.86029
Protected area coverage (%): 56.69
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes

Site details


Site description: A large tundra island located just off the mainland, north of the Ural Mountains.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that meets the thresholds for at least one criterion described in the Global Standard for the Identification of KBAs.
Additional biodiversity: The northern third of the island is the most important for bird conservation.
Delineation rationale: 2009-08-06: IBA area changed from 340,000 ha to 412,000 ha (by BL Secretariat, following RBCU spreadsheet of changes that need making). 2014-08-12 (BL Secretariat): centroid coords adjusted to 70°2'20'N 59°25'37'E and site area changed to (or confirmed as) 412000 ha (rounded), on basis of refined polygon downloaded from Spatial Database on Important Bird Areas of Russia 2014 (© Russian Bird Conservation Union, © Transparent World).

Habitats


Land use: agriculture (30%) | hunting (100%) | nature conservation and research (90%)
IUCN HabitatCoverage %Habitat detail
Grassland100

Additional information


References: T.V.Pleshak
Contributors: The map polygon is provided courtesy of the Spatial Database on Important Bird Areas of Russia 2014 (© Russian Bird Conservation Union, © Transparent World).