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The site was identified as internationally important for bird conservation in 2010 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 Goldeneye Bucephala clangula	LC	winter (1976–1986)	400–1,000 individuals	A4i
Ruddy Shelduck Tadorna ferruginea	LC	breeding (1976–1986)	600–6,000 unknown	A4i
Red-crested Pochard Netta rufina	LC	winter (1976–1986)	2,000–4,000 individuals	A4i
Northern Pintail Anas acuta	LC	passage (1976–1986)	6,000–12,000 individuals	A4i
Black-necked Grebe Podiceps nigricollis	LC	winter (1976–1986)	200–400 individuals	A4i
Demoiselle Crane Anthropoides virgo	LC	passage (1976–1986)	2,000–6,000 individuals	A4i
A4iii Species group - waterbirds	n/a	passage (1976–1986)	9,000–22,000 individuals	A4iii
A4iii Species group - waterbirds	n/a	winter (1976–1986)	15,000–40,000 individuals	A4iii

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2010. The most recent assessment (2006) is shown below.

Pressure (threats to the key species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Human intrusions and disturbance	happen­ing now	some of popul­ation/area (10–49%)	slow deteri­oration (1–10% over 3 gener­ations)	medium
Agricultural expansion and intensification	happen­ing now	few individ­uals/small area (<10%)	no deteri­oration (<1% over 3 gener­ations)	low
Biological resource use	happen­ing now	few individ­uals/small area (<10%)	no deteri­oration (<1% over 3 gener­ations)	low

Response (conservation actions taken for the key species and/or their habitats)
Designation	Planning	Action	Result
Some of site covered (10–49%)	Unknown	Some limited conservation initiatives are in place	low

Year	Protected Area	Designation (management category)	% coverage of IBA
1948	Issyk-Kul	State Nature Reserve (Ia)	56
2001	Issyk Kul	UNESCO-MAB Biosphere Reserve (UA)	100

Habitat	% of IBA	Habitat detail
Wetlands (inland)	64	Raised bogs; Standing fresh water; Fens, transition mires & springs; Standing brackish & salt water
Grassland	24	Humid
Shrubland	8	Low bushes; Scrub
Artificial/Terrestrial	4	Arable land; Forestry plantations

Land use	% of IBA
nature conservation and research	50
hunting	20
agriculture	10

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2025) Important Bird Area factsheet: Eastern Issyk Kul Lake (Kyrgyzstan). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/eastern-issyk-kul-lake-iba-kyrgyzstan on 20/01/2025.