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The site was identified as important 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 List1	Season	Year(s)	Size	IBA criteria
White-headed Duck Oxyura leucocephala	EN	breeding	2005	2 breeding pairs	A1
Dalmatian Pelican Pelecanus crispus	NT	breeding	2007	30 breeding pairs	A1
Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo	LC	breeding	2007	905 individuals	A4i
Pallas's Gull Larus ichthyaetus	LC	breeding	2004	897 individuals	A3, A4i
Common Tern Sterna hirundo	LC	breeding	2007	6,000 individuals	A4i
Common Gull-billed Tern Gelochelidon nilotica	LC	breeding	2007	450 individuals	A4i

1. The current IUCN Red List category. The category at the time of the IBA criteria assessment (2007) may differ.

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2007. The most recent assessment (2014) is shown below.

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

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Climate change and severe weather	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	moderate to rapid deterioration	high
Residential and commercial development	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	moderate to rapid deterioration	high
Human intrusions and disturbance	happening now	majority/most of area/population (50-90%)	moderate to rapid deterioration	high
Biological resource use	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	moderate to rapid deterioration	high

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Protected areas	Management plan	Other action	Result
Whole area of site (>90%) covered by appropriate conservation designation	A comprehensive and appropriate management plan exists that aims to maintain or improve the populations of qualifying bird species	Substantive conservation measures are being implemented but these are not comprehensive and are limited by resources and capacity	high

Year	Protected Area	Designation	% overlap with IBA
1998	Alakolsky	State Nature Reserve	4

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Wetlands (inland)	Standing brackish & salt water, Standing fresh water, Rivers & streams	50
Desert	Desert & semi-desert - stony, Desert & semi-desert - clay	35
Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks)	Inland cliffs, Scree, boulders & bare rocky areas	10
Grassland	Steppes & dry calcareous	5
Shrubland	Low bushes	minor (<10)

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use	% of IBA
nature conservation and research	100

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Lake Alakol Islands (Kazakhstan). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/lake-alakol-islands-iba-kazakhstan on 23/11/2024.