Dashte Nawar (8012)
Afghanistan, Central Asia
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: D1a
Year of last assessment: 1994
National site name: Dashte Nawar
Central coordinates: Latitude: 33.8333, Longitude: 67.7500
System: freshwater, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 3200 to 3200
Area of KBA (km2): 482.53903
Protected area coverage (%): 76.94
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: Dashte Nawar is a high desert plateau in south-east Afghanistan, c.55 km north-west of Ghazni. It is surrounded by the Kohe Baba range which rises above 4,800 m. In the centre of this desert at 3,200 m is Ab-i-Nawar, a shallow, brackish, alkaline lake of c.3,500 ha, being c.14 × 3 km; the lake contains c.40 small islands of 3500 m2. The water comes primarily from snow-melt of the surrounding mountains. The climate is hot and dry in summer and very cold in winter, with only three months of the year having mean minimum temperatures above freezing. The lake bottom supports a dense cover of algae Characeae, but the surrounding mudflats are barren except where they approach the meadows and grasses of the 'Dasht', an upland steppe plateau of meadow grasses and herbs, interspersed with shallow, mostly dry stream beds. The land is state-owned, but semi-nomadic people have grazing rights. In the 1970s some 25 villages supported c.1,200-1,500 people within the area of the Dasht, additionally c.1,300 nomads used the area as summer grazing for c.5,000-7,000 sheep and goats and 700 camels.
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 site holds the highest known breeding colony of Phoenicopterus ruber (12,000 birds in 1970; 10,000 birds plus 400 young in 1975); with increasing disturbance and consistently low water levels during the 1970s at the flamingo colony at Ab-i-Istada (see site 015), that population seemed to be breeding increasingly at this site. Little other ornithological information is available. Other breeding species include Charadrius leschenaultii, Pterocles orientalis and Rhodopechys mongolica. Together with Ab-i-Istada these wetlands are of extreme importance to migratory waterfowl, the nearest comparable habitat being 600 km away in Seistan. The site was listed as a wetland of international importance by Carp (1980). Non-bird biodiversity: Mammals: Canis lupus (V).
Habitats
Land use: nature conservation and research (11%) | rangeland/pastureland
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Wetlands(Inland) | 5 | |
| Desert | 48 | |
| Grassland | 48 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: The site was approved as a Wildlife and Waterfowl Sanctuary in 1977 by the Head of State, following its establishment as a National Flamingo and Waterfowl Sanctuary by the Directorate of Wildlife and National Parks in 1974; however it is not clear whether the site was ever formally gazetted. It was wardened from 1974 to 1978, with assistance from a WWF grant, and a management plan was prepared (Shank and Rodenburg 1977). Excessive disturbance of breeding birds by graziers and their livestock occurs and is a major threat: most is unintentional but some egg-collection occurs.
Additional information
References: Carp (1980), Petocz and Habibi (1975), Sayer and von der Zon (1981), Shank and Rodenburg (1977).