Site: Lake Uvs and its surrounding wetlands

Designation date: 22-03-2004

Coordinates: 50°20'N 092°45'E

Elevation: 759 m

Area: 585,000 ha

Location: Lake Uvs and its surrounding wetlands are situated in the province of Uvs, ca. 30 km to the east of Ulaangom town and 1,592 km to the west from the capital Ulaanbaatar, western Mongolia.

Criteria: 1 ,2 ,3 ,5 ,6 ,7

Importance: The site hosts unique wetlands in the Great Lakes Depression. The lake basin is singular by representing the country's entire natural zones and geographical belts from wetlands to high mountain glaciers. Furthermore, it is very important for the Euro-Asian biodiversity. The site is the largest Eurasian cool zone with a unique nature and geology combining desert-like steppe landscape with wetlands. Lake Uvs, the northern boundary of the Great Lakes Basin, hosts diverse habitats such as large wetlands, reed belts, river deltas with forests, steppe and sand dunes. It provides significant nesting and resting areas for 215 migratory waterbird species, e.g. White-headed Duck (Oxyura leucocephala), and Swan Goose (Anser cygnoides), both endangered in the Red List of IUCN. In addition, 15 waterbird species are listed in the Mongolian Red Book, 16 in the Asian Red Book, 41 in CITES, and 41 in CMS. Nationally redlisted birds are Pelecanus crispus, Egretta alba, Platalea leucorodia, Ciconia nigra, Anser indica, A. cygnoides, Cygnus cygnus, Oxyura leucocephala, Pandion haliaetus, Haliaeetus albicilla, Grus vipio, Larus ichthyaetus, and L. relicrus. The waterbirds spend the warm season in the Siberian tundra and taiga. In 1983 and 1985, surveys counted ca. 50,000 birds just in small parts of the lake. The site regularly supports more than 20,000 waterbirds, as well as more than 1% of the biogeographical population of the following waterbird species: Podiceps cristatus (2,000), Pelecanus crispus (2), Phalacrocorax carbo (3,610), Platalea leucorodia (620), Ciconia nigra (14), Anser anser (1,500), Pluvialis squatarola (2,513), and Sterna hirundo (5,986). Endemic fish inhabit the lake, e.g. Oreoleuciscus potanini, O. pewzowi, O. humilis, and Thymallus brevirostrus.

Wetland Types: Q ,L ,M ,Tp ,W ,N (dominant types shown in bold)

The site comprises the largest saline lake in Mongolia, rivers incl. their deltas, desert and saline steppe, salt and freshwater marsh, as well as riparian zones.

Biological/Ecological notes: The basin holds a typical vegetation of the moderate zone: steppes and swamps, meadows and solonchak soils, bushes and agricultural lands, salt-tolerant and xerophilous plants of clay, stony and sandy deserts, forest-steppes on mountain slopes, various forests, and mountainous tundras and bare rocks. The lake itself is surrounded by desert steppe landscape. Some river deltas are dominated by willow and reeds. The beaver Castor fiber and wild boar Ondatra zibethicus have been reintroduced. Further mammals include Capreolus pygargus, Sus scrofa, and Canis lupus. In toal 261 birds species are recorded, amongst them 52 endangered ones: 46 species are resident and 215 are migratory, of which 144 species breed, 25 pass through, and 10 winter.

Hydrological/Physical notes: The site comprises the largest Mongolian saline lake with a small part lying in Russia. It is a unique wetland in the desert-steppe landscape fringed by high mountain ranges. Lake Uvs is 84 km long, 79 km wide, has an average depth of 11.9 m, a maximum depth of 20 m, a water temperature of 18°-25°C in July, a salinity of 12.6 g/l (varies due to excessive precipitation and evaporation), a pH of ca. 9, and a transparency between 0.3 - 6.0 m. It freezes over from November to May. The water level is rising (about 1.5 m from 1980s to 1990s) due to global warming and the influence of glacier melt. The lake has no outlets but tributary rivers forming vast marshes in the surroundings. Lake Uvs is part of the internal Mongolian drainage system and therefore of fundamental importance for the area's groundwater recharge. The basin is characterised by an extremely continental climate, located in the center of the Central Asian anticyclone. The annual mean air temperature ranges from -3.7°C to -4.4°C. Precipitation is low with 205 mm/year and a summer maximum. The catchment area includes 71,100 sq.km.

Human Uses: The site and its surroundings are state-owned. Nomadic families with a well-developed respect for nature are engaged in traditional herding. They live along the shorelines using the wetlands as pasture and watering points. A few places such as the river valleys are used for haymaking. The main natural resources of Lake Uvs are mineral water, fish and waterbirds. A recreation area has been set up on the lake's southwest side. Studies on the lakes' morphology and biology have been carried out and information booklets are provided. There is potential for recreation, tourism and birdwatching. The surroundings are mainly used for livestock pastureland. Furthermore, irrigated fields occur and settlements offer secondary schools, hospitals, kindergarten, communication branches as well as cultural clubs.

Conservation Measures: The site is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Four Strictly Protected Areas (SPA) were established in the basin in 1993, one of them is Lake Uvs. The management falls under the responsibility of the Mongolian Ministry of Nature and Environment. A management plan is in preparation. The Lake Uvs basin belongs to the Altai-Sayan and is part of the 200 eco-regions identified by WWF that should be protected internationally. A joint transboundary protected area is planned in cooperation with Russian authorities.

Adverse Factors: Many herders are living in or close to the Lake Uvs wetland areas. Threats include willow cutting along the rivers for fuel and overgrazing of pastureland. A future threat might be the increase of livestock resulting in further overgrazing and disturbance of the waterbirds.

Site Management: Ministry for Nature and Environment, Uvs Lake Basin Special Protected Areas Administration, Director M. Ankhbayar, Ulaangom, Uvs province, Tel.: 976 01452 22271, Fax: 976 01452 22184

External Link:

Based on the 2002 Ramsar Information Sheet.