Imam Sahib (8001)
Afghanistan, Central Asia
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 1994
National site name: Imam Sahib
Central coordinates: Latitude: 37.2500, Longitude: 68.8333
System: freshwater, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 500 to 500
Area of KBA (km2): 342.53123
Protected area coverage (%): 93.48
KBA classification: Global/Regional TBD
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: Lowland flood-plains of the Amu Darya (Oxus) river in northern Afghanistan, c.60 km north of Kunduz, at c.500 m. Extensive swamp woodland formerly dominated this region: vast tracts of reeds Phragmites interspersed with thickets of Tamarix and Salix trees and quite large stands of Elaeagnus woodland. However in recent years no doubt much has been destroyed and turned into cultivation as it has been on the north side of the river in Tajikistan and elsewhere on the river.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance because it meets one or more previously established criteria and thresholds for identifying sites of biodiversity importance (including Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas, Alliance for Zero Extinction sites, and Key Biodiversity Areas)
Additional biodiversity: Virtually unstudied ornithologically but, together with Darqad (site 001) further east along the river, the site was known in the 1970s to harbour the last remnants of Phasianus colchicus bianchii in Afghanistan. Other (probable) breeding species include Marmaronetta angustirostris (not proven but likely), Vanellus leucurus, Acrocephalus concinens, A. melanopogon, Panurus biarmicus and Riparia paludicola. Large numbers of unspecified wildfowl utilize the area on migration. Non-bird biodiversity: Mammals: in the 1960s the area was extremely important for the last remnants of the threatened subspecies Cervus elaphus bactrianus.
Habitats
Land use: agriculture | forestry | hunting | rangeland/pastureland
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Artificial - Terrestrial | 32 | |
| Wetlands(Inland) | 32 | |
| Shrubland | 32 | |
| Forest | 5 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: Although formerly declared a Royal Hunting Preserve in the early part of the century, with restrictions on settlement, access, conversion to agriculture and hunting, it was never gazetted as such. No conservation measures have been formally proposed. Habitat destruction is a very great threat which may already have reached dramatic proportions: the swamp woodland was being destroyed and turned into cultivation by settlers in the late 1970s, following the overthrow of the monarchy, and the area is currently a war zone. The lack of protected areas severely compromises the survival of any remaining significant areas of woodland. Both Cervus elaphus bactrianus and Phasianus colchicus bianchii were hunted extensively and without control in the 1970s, and their survival is in doubt unless surveys are carried out and hunting regulated. In the future, the potential damming of the Amu Darya river upstream in Tajikistan is also a threat to the integrity of the site, of unknown magnitude.
Additional information
References: Sayer and van der Zon (1981).