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The site was identified as internationally important for bird conservation in 2006 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
Bar-headed Goose Anser indicus	LC	breeding (2002–2006)	25–50 breeding pairs	A3
Goosander Mergus merganser	LC	resident (2002–2006)	400–600 individuals	A4i
Ruddy Shelduck Tadorna ferruginea	LC	passage (2002–2006)	900–3,000 individuals	A4i
Tibetan Sandgrouse Syrrhaptes tibetanus	LC	resident (2002–2006)	30–50 individuals	A3
Charadrius mongolus	NR	breeding (2002–2006)	40–50 breeding pairs	A3
Brown-headed Gull Larus brunnicephalus	LC	breeding (2002–2006)	25–50 breeding pairs	A3
Himalayan Griffon Gyps himalayensis	NT	resident (2002–2006)	2–4 breeding pairs	A3
Saker Falcon Falco cherrug	EN	winter (2002–2006)	4 individuals	A1
Yellow-billed Chough Pyrrhocorax graculus	LC	resident (2002–2006)	100–150 breeding pairs	A3
Himalayan Rubythroat Calliope pectoralis	LC	breeding (2002–2006)	5–8 breeding pairs	A3
White-winged Redstart Phoenicurus erythrogastrus	LC	breeding (2002–2006)	10–15 breeding pairs	A3
Altai Accentor Prunella himalayana	LC	breeding (2002–2006)	15–20 breeding pairs	A3
Brown Accentor Prunella fulvescens	LC	breeding (2002–2006)	20–25 breeding pairs	A3
White-winged Snowfinch Montifringilla nivalis	LC	resident (2002–2006)	100–200 breeding pairs	A3
Great Rosefinch Carpodacus rubicilla	LC	resident (2002–2006)	80–100 breeding pairs	A3
Brandt's Mountain-finch Leucosticte brandti	LC	resident (2002–2006)	150–200 breeding pairs	A3

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

Pressure (threats to the key species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Climate change and severe weather	happen­ing now	some of popul­ation/area (10–49%)	moderate deteri­oration (10–30% in 3 gener­ations)	high
Agricultural expansion and intensification	happen­ing now	few individ­uals/small area (<10%)	no deteri­oration (<1% over 3 gener­ations)	low
Invasive and other problematic species and genes	happen­ing now	few individ­uals/small area (<10%)	no deteri­oration (<1% over 3 gener­ations)	low
Residential and commercial development	likely in short term (within 4 years)	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
Whole area of site (>90%) covered by appropriate conservation designation	A manage­ment plan exists, but it is out of date or not compre­hensive	Substantive conservation measures are being implemented, but these are not comprehensive and are limited by resources and capacity	medium

Year	Protected Area	Designation (management category)	% coverage of IBA
1999	Таджикский Национальный парк	Национальный парк (II)	66
2013	Tajik National Park (Mountains of the Pamirs)	World Heritage Site (natural or mixed) (UA)	100

Habitat	% of IBA	Habitat detail
Wetlands (inland)	40
Grassland	25
Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks)	20
Desert	-

Land use	% of IBA
nature conservation and research	60
tourism/recreation	20
agriculture	-

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2025) Important Bird Area factsheet: Karakul lake and mountains (Tajikistan). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/karakul-lake-and-mountains-iba-tajikistan on 19/01/2025.