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The site was identified as internationally important for bird conservation in 2007 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
Pygmy Cormorant Microcarbo pygmaeus	LC	passage (2006–2007)	700 individuals	A4i
A4iii Species group - waterbirds	n/a	winter (2006–2007)	min 20,000 individuals	A4iii

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2007. The most recent assessment (2018) is shown below.

State (condition of the key species' populations)
Species	Actual vs Reference (units)	% remaining	Result
White-headed Duck Oxyura leucocephala	1 / 1 (individuals)	100	favourable
Common Pochard Aythya ferina	2,500 / 3,000 (individuals)	84	near favourable

Pressure (threats to the key species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Residential and commercial development	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
Human intrusions and disturbance	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
Pollution	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
Not assessed	Not assessed	Not assessed	not assessed

Habitat	% of IBA	Habitat detail
Wetlands (inland)	75	Standing fresh water; Water-fringe vegetation
Artificial/Terrestrial	10	Forestry plantations; Other urban & industrial areas; Ruderal land
Desert	10	Desert & semi-desert - sandy
Shrubland	5	Low bushes

Land use	% of IBA
water management	40
tourism/recreation	30
fisheries/aquaculture	15
not utilised	10
agriculture	5

State.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2025) Important Bird Area factsheet: Gurtli (Turkmenistan). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/gurtli-iba-turkmenistan on 08/01/2025.