Caspian Sea: State of the Environment 2019

According to counts in the Damchik area in May 2016, the number of nesting mute swans fell by 5.4 per cent compared with 2015. It is possible that a good flood created more favourable feeding condi- tions for them at other water bodies in the Ilmen- no-Bugrovoy area (Astrakhan 2015 and 2016). Specially protected areas cover more than 600,000 ha in the Republic of Dagestan: nature reserves cover 0.4 per cent of the republic’s terri- tory and federal and regional nature sanctuaries cover a further 10.4 per cent. The Dagestan Nature Reserve (19,100 ha) in- cludes three federal nature sanctuaries (Sa- mursky, Tlyaratinsky and Agrakhansky, covering a total of 152,700 ha). The Ministry of Natural Resources and the Envi- ronment of the Republic of Dagestan has respon- sibility for 12 state nature sanctuaries covering a total area of 467,500 ha (4,680 km 2 ), including Verkhniy Gunib Nature Park in Gunibsky Dis- trict (1,422 ha); Itzari Nature Park in Dakha- daevsky District (5,413 ha); 26 natural features of regional significance and three natural features of local significance (Republic of Dagestan 2016). Currently, specially protected natural areas in the Republic of Kalmykia, including federal protect- ed areas, cover 1,048,457.10 ha, or about 14 per cent of the republic’s territory. The existing sys- tem of specially protected areas in the Republic of Kalmykia consists of one nature reserve, three federal nature sanctuaries, nine regional nature sanctuaries and 10 natural features. The Kuma-Manych Depression is home to an ornithological area covering 27,600 ha, within a protected area of 39,720 ha and including Lake Manych-Gudilo. The Tatal-Barunsky Regional Nature Sanctuary and Tyulpanovaya Steppe were designated in 2016 (Republic of Kalmykia 2016). Turkmenistan has nine nature reserves, 16 na- ture sanctuaries and 17 natural features, which are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Ag- riculture and Environmental Protection. More than two thirds of the country’s total biodiversity is concentrated within these specially protected natural areas, which play a major role in preserv-

292 species of birds have been recorded, includ- ing 110 species that come to nest, 76 species that come for the winter and 106 species that are ob- served during migration. There are 48 species of mammals, 227 species of higher plants, 65 spe- cies of fish and over 3,000 invertebrate species. Thirty-six bird species, two mammal species, three plant species and five fish species inhabit- ing the Ural River delta are listed in the Kazakh- stan Red Book. The network of specially protected areas in the coastal areas of the Caspian regions in the Rus- sian Federation is essentially established. It cov- ers most of the diverse landscapes and habitats of protected species and includes Astrakhan Bio- sphere Reserve and Dagestan Nature Reserve, both designated as federal specially protected areas, as well as the Agrakhansky and Samursky state nature sanctuaries, the Volga Delta Wet- lands, an area of international significance, the Northern Caspian Protected Area (north of the line connecting the mouth of the Sulak River and Tyub-Karagan Cape), Maliy Zhemchuzhny Is- land, and national parks, nature sanctuaries and natural features of regional significance. There are also a number of key ornithological ter- ritories (KOTR) in the region, including some of international significance, which do not hold the official legal status of specially protected area. All of these land and water areas ensure that many vulnerable habitats and outstanding natural envi- ronments around the Caspian Sea are protected. There are 49 specially protected areas of regional significance in Astrakhan Oblast, covering a total of 428,600 ha. These include two natural parks, Volga-Akhtuba Interfluve and Baskunchak; four state nature sanctuaries, Vyazovskaya Oak For- est, Ilmenno-Bugrovoy, Stepnoy and Peski Berli; eight state biological nature sanctuaries, Teplush- ki, Ikryaninsky, Mininsky, Krestoviy, Zhirotopka, Bukhovsky, Kabaniy and Yenotayevsky; and 35 natural features of regional significance. Studies conducted in the Astrakhan Biosphere Reserve have demonstrated that the phenological phases of the development of the Caspian lotus population in 2016 are within the limits of long- term average values.

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