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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
Altai Snowcock Tetraogallus altaicus	LC	breeding (2005)	50-249 individuals	A3
Hazel Grouse Tetrastes bonasia	LC	breeding (2005)	50-249 individuals	A3
Common Goldeneye Bucephala clangula	LC	breeding (2006)	70 individuals	A3
Goosander Mergus merganser	LC	breeding (2006)	609 individuals	A4i
Eurasian Wigeon Mareca penelope	LC	breeding (2006)	5 individuals	A3
Horned Grebe Podiceps auritus	VU	breeding (2006)	2 individuals	A3
A4iii Species group - waterbirds	n/a	passage (2005)	20,000-49,999 individuals	A4iii

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2006. The most recent assessment (2012) is shown below.

State (condition of the key species' populations)
Species	Actual vs Reference (units)	% remaining	Result
Goosander Mergus merganser	10 / 609 (individuals)	2	very unfavourable
Black Stork Ciconia nigra	6 / 12 (individuals)	50	unfavourable
Black Stork Ciconia nigra	6 / 12 (individuals)	50	unfavourable
Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo	150 / 45 (individuals)	100	favourable
Osprey Pandion haliaetus	1 / 1 (individuals)	100	favourable
Milvus migrans	300 / 1 (individuals)	100	favourable

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90%) covered by appropriate conservation designation	A manage­ment plan exists, but it is out of date or not compre­hensive	Substantive conservation measures are being implemented, but these are not comprehensive and are limited by resources and capacity	medium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
1976	Markakol'skiy	State Nature Reserve (Ia)	100

Habitat	% of IBA	Habitat detail
Wetlands (inland)	55	Fens, transition mires & springs; Rivers & streams; Standing fresh water
Grassland	20	Alpine, subalpine & boreal; Humid; Mesophile grassland & tall grass steppe; Tundra
Forest	15	Flood-plain; Mixed; Native coniferous; Treeline ecotone
Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks)	5	Inland cliffs; Scree, boulders & bare rocky areas
Shrubland	5	Low bushes; Scrub
Artificial/Terrestrial	minor (<10)	Other urban & industrial areas; Ruderal land

Land use	% of IBA
nature conservation and research	95
fisheries/aquaculture	30
rangeland/pastureland	10
agriculture	5

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2025) Important Bird Area factsheet: Markakol State Nature Reserve (Kazakhstan). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/markakol-state-nature-reserve-iba-kazakhstan on 19/01/2025.