Lake Julturbas

Lake Julturbas
reed beds on the lake Julturbas
fishermen on the lake Julturbas

Lake Julturbas

  • Country: 
    Uzbekistan
  • Site number: 
    2541
  • Area: 
    64,715 ha
  • Designation date: 
    08-08-2022
  • Coordinates: 
    43°30'N 59°46'E
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.

Overview

The Site 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 (Site no. 2522). Since the severe reduction in the Aral Sea’s area, the Site 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 (Aythya nyroca), red-crested pochard (Netta rufina) and white-headed duck (Oxyura leucocephala). 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 (Pseudoscaphirhynchus hermanni) and the Amu Darya sturgeon (Pseudoscaphirhynchus kaufmanni). There are also some terrestrial animals living around the periphery of the lake, such as the vulnerable goitered gazelle (Gazella subgutturosa). Activities such as cattle grazing, reed harvesting, fishing and hunting are allowed for the local communities. A “State Hunting Farm” and a “State Forest Community” have been established to promote wise use of the wetland’s resources and sustainable tourism in the Site.

Administrative region: 
Muynak district of the Republic of Karakalpakstan in the Republic of Uzbekistan

  • National legal designation: 
    • Hunting farm - "Zhyltyrbas"
    • State Forest and Hunting Enterprise - "Kazakhdarya"
  • Last publication date: 
    12-02-2024

Downloads

Ramsar Information Sheet (RIS)

Additional reports and documents