Lake Julturbas in Uzbekistan’s northwestern Karakalpakstan region has been added to the List of Wetlands of International Importance by the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands – the intergovernmental treaty that governs the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. This was announced on February 12th during the 14th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS COP14), which is taking place in Samarkand, Uzbekistan this week.
Lake Julturbas was once part of a bay of the Aral Sea, the fourth-largest lake in the world until around 1960, along with the nearby Sudochye Lake System, which is also a Wetland of International Importance.
Since the severe reduction in the Aral Sea area, Lake Julturbas has become an important stopover for many birds migrating along the Central Asian and African-Eurasian flyways. It supports about 25,000 waterbirds annually, and 1% of the regional populations of at least seven bird species, including ferruginous duck, red-crested pochard, and white-headed duck.
There are 15 species of fish, and five of them are endemic to the Aral Sea region, including two critically endangered species – the dwarf sturgeon and the Amu Darya sturgeon. There are also some land animals living around the periphery of the lake, such as the vulnerable goitered gazelle.
Activities such as cattle grazing, reed harvesting, fishing and hunting are allowed for the local communities living around the lake.
