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The site was identified as internationally important for bird conservation in 2016 because it was regularly supporting significant populations of the species listed below, meeting IBA criteria.

Populations meeting IBA criteria ('key species') at the site:

Species	Red List	Season (year/s of estimate)	Size	IBA criteria
Common Pochard Aythya ferina	VU	passage (2015)	470–500 individuals	A1

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2016. The most recent assessment (2019) is shown below.

Pressure (threats to the key species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Biological resource use	happen­ing now	some of popul­ation/area (10–49%)	slow deteri­oration (1–10% over 3 gener­ations)	medium
Climate change and severe weather	likely in short term (within 4 years)	some of popul­ation/area (10–49%)	moderate deteri­oration (10–30% in 3 gener­ations)	medium

Response (conservation actions taken for the key species and/or their habitats)
Designation	Planning	Action	Result
Not assessed	Not assessed	Substantive conservation measures are being implemented, but these are not comprehensive and are limited by resources and capacity	low

Habitat	% of IBA	Habitat detail
Desert	55	Desert & semi-desert - salty; Desert & semi-desert - sandy
Wetlands (inland)	25	Rivers & streams; Standing brackish & salt water; Temporary water bodies; Water-fringe vegetation
Forest	10	Wooded desert & semi-desert
Shrubland	10	Low bushes

Land use	% of IBA
fisheries/aquaculture	18

The landowners are 2 fishery farms.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2025) Important Bird Area factsheet: Akpetky lakes and surrounding Aralkum Desert (Uzbekistan). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/akpetky-lakes-and-surrounding-aralkum-desert-iba-uzbekistan on 18/01/2025.