IBA PROGRAM IN CENTRAL ASIA

Within Asia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are of outstanding importance to birds. These countries are crossed by several migration routes and encompass the Black Sea-Mediterranean, the West Asian-East African and Central Asian-South Asian flyways. Millions of birds migrating annually through this area depend on wetlands, forests and oases as vital stopover sites before they cross the vast inhospitable deserts and mountain ridges that form the southern border of this region. The region is rich in biodiversity: approximately 530 bird species have been recorded - among them several that are globally threatened, such as Dalmatian Pelican Pelicanus crispus, Siberian Crane Grus leucogeranus and Sociable Lapwing Vanellus gregarious with a total of 34 globally threatened species and 14 near threatened species. The steppes of Kazakhstan, dotted with thousands of both salt- and fresh- water lakes, and including some of the largest some of the Asian wetland complexes, provide breeding and stopover sites facilities for millions of waterbirds.

From 1980^th BirdLife International implement Important Bird Areas Program (IBA). In 1989-2000 were published books about IBAs in Europe and in the Middle East. IBA programs work in Africa, USA, South Asia and Pacific region. Today more than 10000 IBAs have been identified worldwide. One of the last and most conspicuous gaps on the global IBA map was Central Asia - despite its outstanding importance for the conservation of important global ecosystems such as steppe, desert and high mountains and its large populations of many, globally threatened and near threatened species listed in the IUCN Red Data List. When started in 2004, the Central Asian IBA Program was a new initiative for the region, although it is based on a methodology that has been successfully implemented in more than 200 countries. This Program supported by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is implementing in Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, which together cover 91% of Central Asia region's area.

Central Asia showing, highlighted, the three IBA Program countries

This grouping is based on the similarity of many of the habitats and species found in the three countries - all have internationally important wetlands supporting millions of birds on migration and in winter, deserts with characteristic, specialized bird communities; and growing bird research and conservation organizations. By IBA program in Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan were carried out tens of expeditions with reiterated investigations in different seasons. IBA program in Central Asia is directed to creation a system of territories which have international importance for birds and all biodiversity conservation. In Central Asia was identified a system of IBAs based on valid and modern data about birds distribution and standard international criteria. As a result of joint work of ornithologists in 2008 in Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan the firs national inventory of IBAs was finished. In these countries were published first final documents about IBA program work - catalogues of the most important sites for conservation of birds in Russian and English.