IBA PROGRAM IN UZBEKISTAN

IBA Uz Program background

The first list of IBAs in Uzbekistan

An initial pre-phase of Important Bird Areas (IBA) of Uzbekistan began in 1996. With support from the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU) - the BirdLife partner in Germany - and coordinated by BirdLife International, Elena Kreuzberg-Mukhina carried out the preliminary work on the analysis of existing published data. As a result, the first papers on globally threatened bird species occurring in the republic were prepared.

IBA work in Uzbekistan recommenced in 2004 with a regional IBA project planning workshop in Almaty. Core funding by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) - the BirdLife partner in the UK - was then provided to re-launch the IBA work in Uzbekistan complemented by a substantial grant received by the UK Darvin Initiative of the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) of the UK government.

Presentation of IBA Program in the State Committee. November, 2005

In 2005 during two national planning workshops involving all of the potential project partners from the conservation and science community, a programme of work to implement the IBA program in Uzbekistan and a list of 55 potential IBAs were developed. A national IBA coordinator was employed (Dr. Roman Kashkarov). New nature conservation initiative was supported by Uzbekistan Zoological Society. In September 1, 2005 a project office was opened in the Institute of Zoology in Tashkent. In November 2005 on the workshop IBA project activity met with approval of the State Committee for the Protection of Nature of Uzbekistan.

Main stages of work

The first winter counts on IBA. January, 2006

In 2006 first of a large series of field surveys was organized and fieldworkers were trained and equipped with field guides, optics and GPS receivers. A project information poster and the first edition of a newsletter were printed and distributed; a film about the IBA work and the capacity building component for young ornithologists was produced and distributed and a project web-site www.iba.uz (now www.uzspb.uz) was set up.

By the end of 2006 descriptions of the first 30 potential IBAs were completed and were entered into the BirdLife World Biodiversity Database. In 2007 GIS-based (Geographic Information System) digitization of IBA boundaries started, a network of four student birdwatching clubs was established at universities in Uzbekistan (with some of the students already taking part in IBA fieldwork). IBA fieldwork was completed in that year and the end of the year was crowned by foundation of the Uzbekistan Society for the Protection of Birds (UzSPB), which since then has hosted the IBA project. The Society will play a key role in the future conservation and monitoring of IBAs in the country.

The firs ornithological training for students. June, 2006

In 2008 the inventory and description of 48 suggested IBAs of Uzbekistan were completed and in April 2008 the Birdlife Secretariat approved the data and officially designated the sites as IBAs. The publication of Important Bird Areas of Uzbekistan - priority sites for conservation documents of all the IBAs identified and is a crucial document for the dissemination of the gathered information among the public, key conservation stakeholders and governmental conservation bodies.

The next stage

The planning and implementation of concrete conservation measures for selected sites will follow the publication of this inventory and discussion with the relevant governmental authorities have already started. In August, 2008 UzSPB and State Committee for the Protection of the Nature of Uzbekistan covenanted about common understanding. One of the key objectives for this phase is the strengthening of the Protected Areas network in the country.