Eastern Issyk Kul Lake (27415)
Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: D1a
Year of last assessment: 2010
National site name: Eastern Issyk Kul Lake
Central coordinates: Latitude: 42.7750, Longitude: 78.1767
System: freshwater, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 1609 to 1609
Area of KBA (km2): 752.46632
Protected area coverage (%): 57.84
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: Territory includes mudflats along the shores, sea buckthorn thickets growing along the 2 km length of shores, shallow floodplains, estuaries of Tyup, Djergalan, Kara-Kol, Kizil- Suu rivers. The territory is situated in close proximity to Karakol city.
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: Criterion A4iii is applied to the site because of the big concentration of wintering waterfowl. During stopover for resting and feeding, up to 2,5 thousand Demoiselle crane, many waders, geese (Bean Goose), as well as White-headed ducks may stop here. Whooper swan and White-tailed eagle are common in winter. Tundra swan is rare.From 15 to 40 thousands individuals of 30 species winter here each year.Issyk-Kul basin hosts 267 bird species. Mallard, Gadwall, Common and Red-Crested pochards, Common coot and Great Crested grebe breed here. Species seen during the passage include Demoiselle crane, Northern Pintail, Garganey and Shoveler. Whooper and Mute swans, Goldeneye, Red-crested pochard and occasionally Tundra swan winter here. Non-bird biodiversity: Mammals occur here are fox, ondatra, jackal, badger, weasel, water shrew and voles. Amphibians are Marsh frog and European green toad. Plants are sea buckthorn thickets, plantings of poplar, elm, barberry, sedges and reed.
Delineation rationale: 2014-03-11 (BL Secretariat): a site area of 99929 ha was calculated by GIS from the site polygon, then rounded to the nearest 10% (100000 ha).
Habitats
Land use: agriculture (10%) | hunting (20%) | nature conservation and research (50%)
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Artificial - Terrestrial | 4 | |
| Shrubland | 8 | |
| Grassland | 24 | |
| Wetlands(Inland) | 64 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: At this moment ecosystems are in satisfactory conditions.Main threats are agricultutal intensification (B), fishing and harvesting aquatic resources (B), human disturbance (B), selective logging (B).
| Threat level 1 | Threat level 2 | Threat level 3 | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Livestock farming & ranching | Small-holder grazing, ranching or farming | Ongoing |
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Marine & freshwater aquaculture | Subsistence/artisinal aquaculture | Ongoing |
| Biological resource use | Logging & wood harvesting | Unintentional effects: subsistence/small scale (species being assessed is not the target) [harvest] | Ongoing |
| Human intrusions & disturbance | Work & other activities | Ongoing |
Additional information
References: Ardamin I. (1976) Wintering of Waterfowl in Issyk-Kul. Studies of Issyk-Kul reserve. Frunze “Kyrgyzstan” p. 45-62 Kydyraliev A. (1976) Waterfowl and waterbirds of Issyk-Kul reserve. Studies of Issyk-Kul reserve. Frunze “Kyrgyzstan” p. 24-44 Counts of waterfowl. Chronicle “Nature of Issyk-Kul reserve” 1987 Yanushevich A. I. and others (1959) Birds of Kyrgyzstan Vol. 1
Contributors: Data-sheet compiled 25-09-2006 by S. V. Kulagin (NABU), received by BirdLife Cambridge May 2008, translated by Tsovinar Hovhannisyan in summer 2010, entered into WBDB by Rory McCann in autumn 2010.