Western Issyk Kul Lake (Kyrgyzstan) IBA | Details

Western Issyk Kul Lake

Current view: Data table and detailed info

IBA Justification

The site was identified as internationally important for bird conservation in 2010 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 List	Season (year/s of estimate)	Size	IBA criteria
Whooper Swan Cygnus cygnus	LC	winter (-)	200–500 birds	A4i
Red-crested Pochard Netta rufina	LC	winter (-)	2,000–6,000 birds	A4i
Black-necked Grebe Podiceps nigricollis	LC	winter (-)	400–8,000 birds	A4i
Saker Falcon Falco cherrug	EN	breeding (-)	2–6 pairs	A1
A4iii Species group - waterbirds	n/a	winter (-)	25,000–80,000 birds	A4iii

IBA Conservation

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2010. The most recent assessment (2013) is shown below.

IBA conservation assessment
Year of assessment	State	Pressure	Response
2013	not assessed	high	low
Whole site assessed?	State assessed by	Accuracy of information
yes	unset	unknown

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Agricultural expansion and intensification	happening now	most of population/area (50–90%)	slow decline (1–10% over 3 generations)	high
Biological resource use	happening now	most of population/area (50–90%)	slow decline (1–10% over 3 generations)	high

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Designation	Planning	Action	Result
Whole area (>90%) covered by appropriate conservation designation	A management plan exists, but it is out of date or not comprehensive	Very little or no conservation action taking place	low

IBA Protection

Year	Protected Area	Designation (management category)	% coverage of IBA
1948	Issyk-Kul	State Nature Reserve (Ia)	50
2001	Issyk Kul	UNESCO-MAB Biosphere Reserve (UA)	100

Habitats

Habitat	% of IBA	Habitat detail
Wetlands (inland)	63	Standing fresh water; Water-fringe vegetation
Shrubland	24	Low bushes
Desert	6	Desert & semi-desert - stony
Artificial/Terrestrial	5	Forestry plantations

Land use

Land use	% of IBA
nature conservation and research	50
hunting	20

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Western Issyk Kul Lake (Kyrgyzstan). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/western-issyk-kul-lake-iba-kyrgyzstan on 23/12/2024.