Bugdasheni Lake

Bugdasheni Lake

Country:
Georgia
Site number:
2434
Area:
119.3 ha
Designation date:
08-07-2020
Coordinates:
41°12'02"N 43°40'55"E
  • Bugdasheni Lake
  • Bugdasheni Lake
  • Bugdasheni Lake

Materials presented on this website, particularly maps and territorial information, are as-is and as-available based on available data and do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.


The Site is comprised of Bugdasheni Lake, an alpine lake of volcanic origin, and marshes, boggy meadows and rivers. It is a part of a mountain steppe landscape on the Javakheti plateau. The wetland is important for the biological diversity of the region: it contains up to 19 endemic plant species, and supports numerous bird species – amounting to 40,000 individuals – during their migration and breeding periods. A rocky isle in the south-eastern part of the Lake is a particularly important nesting site for various waterbirds, including the critically endangered sociable lapwing (Vanellus gregarius) and the nationally vulnerable great white pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus). The Site also supports internationally important numbers of nationally vulnerable ruddy shelduck (Tadorna ferruginea), which breed and moult in the wetland. Rechannelling of the water supply from the Zagranichnaja River is one of the main threats to the wetland, as it now loses half of its water during some periods. Overgrazing, haymaking, pollution from cattle farming, and invasive species are other factors adversely affecting the Site.

Administrative region: Javakheti Plateau, Ninotsminda District

National legal designation:
  • National Protected Area, Bugdasheni Managed Reserve - Bugdasheni Managed Reserve
Regional (international) legal designations:
  • Other international designation
Last publication date: 05-10-2020
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