KZ112
Karabas Mountains This is an IBA in Danger! 


IBA Justification

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 ('triggering') IBA criteria.

Populations meeting IBA criteria ('trigger species') at the site:
Species Red List Season (year[s] of estimate) Size IBA criteria
Lesser Kestrel Falco naumanni LC breeding (2007) 20–30 pairs A1
Saker Falcon Falco cherrug EN breeding (1991–2006) 2–15 pairs A1

IBA Conservation

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2007. The most recent assessment (2017) is shown below.

IBA conservation assessment
Year of assessment State Pressure Response
2017 good very high very low
Whole site assessed? State assessed by Accuracy of information
no habitat good

State (condition of the trigger species' populations)
Species Actual vs Reference (units) % remaining Result
Black Grouse Lyrurus tetrix 12 / 50 (birds) 24 very poor
Mallard Anas platyrhynchos 10 / 20 (birds) 50 poor
Black-bellied Sandgrouse Pterocles orientalis 25 / 1 (birds) 100 good
Demoiselle Crane Anthropoides virgo 8 / 8 (pairs) 100 good
Little Bustard Tetrax tetrax 8 / 1 (birds) 100 good
Great Bustard Otis tarda 4 / 10 (pairs) 40 poor
Asian Houbara Chlamydotis macqueenii 2 / 2 (pairs) 100 good
Black Stork Ciconia nigra 2 / 2 (pairs) 100 good
Little Owl Athene noctua 10 / 15 (pairs) 67 poor
Eurasian Eagle-owl Bubo bubo 3 / 15 (pairs) 20 very poor
Steppe Eagle Aquila nipalensis 6 / 5 (pairs) 100 good
Eastern Imperial Eagle Aquila heliaca 1 / 4 (pairs) 25 very poor
Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos 2 / 1 (pairs) 100 good
Montagu's Harrier Circus pygargus 18 / 20 (birds) 90 moderate
Milvus migrans 6 / 10 (pairs) 60 poor
Long-legged Buzzard Buteo rufinus 20 / 7 (pairs) 100 good
Lesser Kestrel Falco naumanni 30 / 30 (pairs) 100 good
Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus 30 / 15 (pairs) 100 good
Eurasian Hobby Falco subbuteo 4 / 6 (pairs) 67 poor
Saker Falcon Falco cherrug 5 / 6 (pairs) 84 moderate

State (condition of the trigger species' habitats)
Habitat Quantity (% remaining) Quality (% carrying capacity) Result
Forest good (>90%) good (>90%) good
Shrubland good (>90%) good (>90%) good
Grassland good (>90%) good (>90%) good
Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks) good (>90%) good (>90%) good
Wetlands (inland) good (>90%) good (>90%) good
Artificial/Terrestrial good (>90%) good (>90%) good

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat Timing Scope Severity Result
Biological resource use happe­ning now most of popul­ation/area (50–90%) rapid decline (>30% over 3 gener­ations) very high
Agricultural expansion and intensification happe­ning now some of popul­ation/area (10–49%) no or slight decline (<1% over 3 gener­ations) low

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Designation Planning Action Result
Unknown No management planning has taken place Unknown very low

Habitats

Habitat % of IBA Habitat detail
Grassland 75 Steppes & dry calcareous
Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks) 10 Inland cliffs; Scree, boulders & bare rocky areas
Forest 5 Flood-plain
Shrubland 5 Low bushes; Juniper scrub
Wetlands (inland) 5 Fens, transition mires & springs; Rivers & streams; Temporary water bodies; Water-fringe vegetation
Artificial/Terrestrial - Arable land; Highly improved reseeded grasslands

Land use

Land use % of IBA
rangeland/pastureland 50


Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Karabas Mountains (Kazakhstan). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/karabas-mountains-iba-kazakhstan on 04/12/2024.