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The site was identified as important in 2006 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
Eastern Imperial Eagle Aquila heliaca	VU	breeding	2003-2006	17 breeding pairs	A1
Saker Falcon Falco cherrug	EN	breeding	2003-2006	120 breeding pairs	A1, A4ii

1. The current IUCN Red List category. The category at the time of the IBA criteria assessment (2006) may differ.

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2006. The most recent assessment (2014) is shown below.

State (condition of the trigger species' populations)
Species	Reference	Actual	Units	% remaining	Result
Alpine Swift Tachymarptis melba	1	3	individuals	100	favourable
Northern Wheatear Oenanthe oenanthe	1	2	individuals	100	favourable

State (condition of the trigger species' habitats)
Habitat	Quantity (% remaining)	Quality (% carrying capacity)	Result
Artificial/Terrestrial	good (> 90%)	good (> 90%)	favourable
Desert	good (> 90%)	good (> 90%)	favourable
Forest	good (> 90%)	good (> 90%)	favourable
Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks)	good (> 90%)	good (> 90%)	favourable
Shrubland	good (> 90%)	good (> 90%)	favourable
Wetlands (inland)	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	whole area/population (>90%)	slow but significant deterioration	high
Biological resource use	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	slow but significant deterioration	medium
Residential and commercial development	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	slow but significant deterioration	medium
Transportation and service corridors	happening now	small area/few individuals (<10%)	slow but significant deterioration	low
Agricultural expansion and intensification	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	no or imperceptible deterioration	low
Human intrusions and disturbance	happening now	small area/few individuals (<10%)	no or imperceptible deterioration	low

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 management plan exists but it is out of date or not comprehensive	Some limited conservation initiatives are in place	medium

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Desert	Desert & semi-desert - clay, Desert & semi-desert - salty, Desert & semi-desert - stony, Desert & semi-desert - sandy	70
Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks)	Inland cliffs	20
Shrubland	Scrub, Low bushes	10
Artificial/Terrestrial	Other urban & industrial areas	minor (<10)
Forest	Wooded desert & semi-desert	minor (<10)
Wetlands (inland)	Rivers & streams, Standing brackish & salt water, Temporary water bodies, Water-fringe vegetation	minor (<10)

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use	% of IBA
not utilised	major (>10)
energy production and mining	minor (<10)

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: North-western cliff faces of the Ustyurt Plateau (Kazakhstan). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/north-western-cliff-faces-of-the-ustyurt-plateau-iba-kazakhstan on 23/11/2024.