Current view: Text account
Site description (2006 baseline):
Site location and context
The IBA covers the very western and most gentle “chink” (cliff) of the vast Ustyurt Plateau, extending to the Mertvyi Kultuk saltmarsh (Mangystau and Beyneu districts). The site consists of a limestone-gypsum desert plateau and neighbouring plains with steep cliffs. The surface of the plateau is slightly undulating clay northern desert with fragments of semidesert. The vegetation is mainly Artemisia-Salsola associations. Below is the vast Mertvyi Kultuk saltmarsh which is now under water and a sea bay created by the rising level of the Caspian Sea.
The IBA holds a complex of species of the northern desert, with a high density of raptors.
Limestone quarrying for building in the towns of Beyneu and Say-Utes takes place in a small part of the site.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The main threats are:
Illegal capture of Saker Falcons;
Disturbance from limestone quarrying (in a limited area);
Development of infrastructure for petroleum (oil) production, which may cause disturbance and habitat destruction in some places.
Conservation responses/actions for key biodiversity
None.
None.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Western cliff faces of the Ustyurt Plateau (Kazakhstan). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/western-cliff-faces-of-the-ustyurt-plateau-iba-kazakhstan on 25/12/2024.
