• Program on Environmental Education for teachers, students, lectures of higher education institutions and inspectors of protected territories has involved students from the region. Since 2005 schoolchildren of site villages have been involved in the annual celebration of "Crane Day" organized under the SCWP. (2005 - 2009)

• TV programs on wetlands in the Kostanay Region were organized. Several booklets on “Key Wetlands of Northern Kazakhstan” were prepared, and more then 1000 have been distributed at both project sites (2005-2009).
  
  

Koibagar-Tyuntyugur Lake System (58,000 hectares, 52 39'N 065 45'E) comprises five river-fed, freshwater lakes characterized by a diversity of habitats including extensive shoreline reed beds, open water and seasonal floodplain wet meadows. The lake system is of great importance for ducks, geese and swans (Anseriformes) during all periods; up to 200,000 molting individuals have been recorded during favorable conditions and as many as 500,000 waterbirds during the period of autumn passage. The site supports 13 bird species on the IUCN Red List, including the Siberian Crane (Grus leucogeranus) and Sociable Lapwing (Vanellus gregarious), and over 1% of the populations of 12 waterbird species. The area surrounding the lakes is used for agriculture, including grain cropping and animal husbandry. Koibagar and Tyuntyugur lakes are used for commercial fishing, and associated boating activities cause disturbance to bird nesting and migration. Goose hunting, vegetation trampling, and fires also pose threats to the ecological character of the site.

Red-breasted Geese (Branta ruficollis) Tyuntyugur lake. Photo by Erkki Kellomaki

Kulykol-Taldykol Lake System (8,300 hectares, 51 23'N 061 52'E) is a wetland complex comprising two large lakes, Kulykol and Taldykol, and several smaller lakes. The complex is highly significant for waterbirds. It is habitat for 12 bird species on the IUCN Red List, including the Siberian Crane (Grus leucogeranus), and supports tens of thousands of ducks, geese and swans (Anseriformes) during migration and molting, as well as over 1% of the populations of 12 species of waterbird. Forty-five species of wetland birds are reported within the framework of project monitoring to nest at the site. The lake system has a range of habitats including open water, damp meadows and shoreline reed beds. Lake depth and salinity fluctuates seasonally. The site is surrounded by agricultural land - including grain crops attractive to large numbers of geese - and is used for hunting and small-scale fishing by local residents.

Red-breasted (Branta ruficollis) and White-fronted Geese (Anser albifro) Kulykol lake. Photo by Albert Salemgareev

Kazakhstan acceded to the Ramsar Convention in May 2007, so inferring obligations on the conservation of internationally significant wetlands on its territory for mankind. On 7 May 2009, the number of Ramsar sites in Kazakhstan increased to four covering 531,141 hectares, including Tengiz-Korgalzhyn lake system and the delta of the Ural River.

For more information on this program please contact:
 
National Project Manager
Vera Inyutina
Astana city, tel./fax:8 (7172) 536652
e-mail: vera.inyutina@mail.ru

Expert on public participation
Yekaterina Salyutina
Astana city, tel./fax:8 (7172) 536656

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