OF TAJIKISTAN
5. PAMIRO-ALAI (Tajik National Park)
Tajik National Park is located in the central part of the Pamiro-Alai and encompasses the Academy of Science, Zaalai, Beleush, and Zulumart Mountain Ranges, as well as the eastern parts of the Vanch, Yazgulyam, and Darvaz Mountain Ranges. It has the highest peaks in the Central Asian Region: the Peak named after Ismoily Somony (7,495 meters above sea level) and the Peak named after Lenin (7,134 meters above sea level). Karakul and Sarez Lakes are situated in the park, as are the glaciers named after Fedchenko (77 km long, with a total area of 652 km2) and the Baland, Kiik, and Sauksai River Valleys.
The park is located between 39024 and 38004N and between 73027 and 72000E on the territo-ry of several administrative districts: the Vanch, Rushan, and Murgab Districts in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province; and the Djirgital and Tavildar Districts.
The total area of Tajik National Park compris-es 2.6 million hectarcompris-es.
Statement of Significance
Tajik National Park (TNP) is a unique, inte-grated region that has natural and territorial unity. The park was created to preserve valu-able landscape complexes; rare and endan-gered species of flora and fauna; monuments of nature, culture, and history; and to develop and regulate tourism. One hundred and twen-ty endemic plant and animal species inhabit the park's territory, as do many species that are threatened with extinction. Within the bounds of TNP, there are numerous monu-ments of nature (for example, the glaciers named after Fedchenko and Medvezhy; and the highest mountain peaks, the Peak named after Somony and the Peak named after
Lenin); monuments of culture and history (for example the site of the ancient settlement
"Bozordara"); as well as hot and mineral springs.
The park's value from the standpoint of nature protection has been determined by the impor-tance of preserving the unique and diverse landscapes and biological diversity of flora and fauna of the Pamiro-Darvaz; and by the neces-sity of regulating the economic and recre-ational development of the territory, as well as maintaining a favorable ecological balance in this region and on neighboring territories.
Tajik National Park occupies almost 11% of the republic. In its scale, in the integration of the territory, and in its absolute elevation, it, cer-tainly deserves to be included on the World Heritage List.
Criteria for inscribing the property on UNESCO's World Heritage List
N (i)- Presents primary phases of the Earth's development, significant geological processes in the development of the terrestrial surface, significant geomorphological and physiogeo-graphic particularities of the relief.
The Pamir Plateau is one of the world's high-est plateaus. Pamir is customarily divided into the Western part (Badakhshan), with "young"
mountain forming processes, and the Eastern part (Pamir proper), an ancient mountain system and high mountain flattened plateaus at elevations of 3,000- 4,000 meters and peaks of 7,000 and more meters. On Western Pamir, there is sharply contrasting erosion-denuda-tion relief. Eastern Pamir, with a very large absolute height (no lower than 3,600 meters) is distinguished by its weak surface
fragmen-REPUBLIC
tation. Uncommonly wide, flat-bottomed val-leys with slow-moving rivers, and broad basins with brackish lakes without outlets are charac-teristic for it. A majestic link of the Zaalai Mountain Chain, which is crowned by Ismoily Somony Peak (former Communism Peak), stretches to the north of Eastern Pamir.
Tectonic movements in the Tajik Depression during the course of the Mesozoic and Paleogenic Eras were weak. The primary movement, which led to the formation of the depressions, took place in the late Neogenic and early Quaternary Periods. Characteristic for the tectonic depression is the disruption of Cretaceous and Tertiary Period sediments along Upper-Jurassic saliferous layer are thicker, which brought on disharmony in the deposit of these sediments in the Lower Mesozoic Era. The diversity of alpine rocks (including color diversity ) shows the moun-tain formation processes that determined the geological and geomorphological uniqueness of the region.
N (iv)- Contains natural habitats that are most important and significant for biodiversity con-servation in the region, including the conserva-tion of species that are of universal value from the standpoint of science and conservation.
It is the largest high mountain national park in the world and its territory is adequate to pro-vide for the long-term conservation of biodi-versity and natural and cultural objects. It has an integrated and unified territory and has a regime of strict protection.
N (ii) - It is an exceptional example of signif-icant ecological and biological processes in the evolution and development of ecosystems, and plant and animal communities.
N (iii) - It contains unique natural phenome-na and landscapes of exceptiophenome-nal beauty and is an object of esthetic significance.
Many monuments of nature, culture, and his-tory, as well as hot and mineral springs are located on the national park's territory. Also located in the park are exceptionally beautiful landscape complexes, including: the
Fedchenko Glacier; the Medvezhy Glacier; tall mountains (such as Ismoily Somony Peak (formerly Communism Peak), Lenin Peak, and E. Korzhenovsky Peak, the heights of which exceed 7,000 meters); and unique freshwater and brackish lakes framed by alpine peaks.
The site of an ancient settlement,
"Bozordara", is considered to be an outstand-ing monument of culture and history.
Furthermore, the territory is nominated on the basis of the following cultural criteria:
C (iii) - It offers unique evidence of cultural traditions and traditional knowledge of and skills in nature use, some of which have already disappeared, and some of which still exist and can be preserved within the park.
Tajik National Park is located in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province, where more than 90% of the territory lies at eleva-tions higher than 3,000 meters about sea level.
For that reason, the area is dominated by rocky massifs, glaciers, firm basins, and steep slopes, which are constantly transforming and are influenced by dynamic processes.
Population density is extremely low (less than 1 person per square kilometer) and local com-munities primarily carry out traditional subsis-tence activities that support the indigenous people's local historical cultural traditions.
C (v) - The unchanged character and appear-ance that is inherent to the indigenous peo-ple's traditional way of life is preserved in a number of settlements.
Brief Description of the Site
The Pamir Plateau is one of the highest plateaus in the world. Pamir is usually divid-ed into two parts, the Western part (Badakhshan) and the Eastern part (Pamir proper). Western Pamir is carved by deep canyons with western-flowing rivers that have steep slopes, and which range in height up to 5,000 meters above sea level. In Western Pamir, there is sharply contrasting erosion-denudification relief. In addition to the afore-mentioned mountain ranges, there are also the Rushan, Shugan, Shakhdarin, and Ishkashim Ranges. Situated between them are
the valleys of the Vanch, Bartang, and Gunt Valleys, with the Shakhsar, and Pamir Rivers, which come together in the Pyandzh River Valley.
Eastern Pamir is a highly raised region, which has a relative elevation of 3,700 - 5,000 meters above the elevation of its rivers and valleys.
The absolute elevation of the mountain ranges is more than 6,000 meters above sea level.
River valleys are quite wide (10-15 km).
Mountain slopes are smoothly contoured.
Eastern Pamir, with its towering absolute height, (no lower than 3,600 meters), is distin-guished by the weak fragmentation of its sur-face. For the region, unusually broad, flat-bottomed valleys with slow-flowing rivers;
broad basins without outlets; and brackish lakes are characteristic. To the north of Eastern Pamir, is a majestic link in the Zaalai Mountain Chain, which is crowned by Ismoily Somony Peak. The climate here is sharp con-tinental and is characterized by great season-al and daily changes in meteorologicseason-al ele-ments. Across the territory of the Pamir, the average annual air temperature varies widely:
from +17.2°C in the south, to - 6.90 C on Pamir (Fedchenko Glacier). In the foothill areas, the average air temperature is +6 +110 C; the average temperature in January ranges from - 2 to - 80 C, and in July it ranges from 18 to 260 C. The high mountain regions are distin-guished by their harsher temperature regime.
Negative average monthly air temperatures are observed beginning in October or November and continue through March to April. The average temperature of the warmest month, July, is 4 - 150 C, while during the coldest months, January and February, the tempera-ture averages from -14 to -260 C. Here, the annual air temperature is negative - 2 -70 C.
The maximum number of days with snow cover for the winter reaches 244 - 290 (Anzob Pass, Fedchenko Glacier).
In Tajikistan, there are close to 8,500 glaciers, which occupy 6% of the republic's total terri-tory. The total area of glaciation reaches 8,500 km2. A significant part of them is located on the territory of Tajik National Park. The vol-ume of ice in all the glaciers comprises 457 km3, and their supply of freshwater nears 400 km3; this is almost 8 times more than the annu-al drainage of annu-all of Tajikistan's rivers com-bined. The glaciers provide between one third and one half of the summer drainage of the republic's rivers, and of those of Central Asia as a whole. The most significant among Pamir's high mountain lakes are Rangkul Lake, Shorkul Lake, and Karakul Lake. On the terri-tory of Tajik National Park, more than 2,000 species of upper plants grow, of which 120 species are endemic, rare, and endangered.
Forests in the Pamir are few, but they are rich in their composition (150 trees and bushes) and are located at elevations of up to 3,500 meters above sea level. Pamir's fauna are unique. It is rich in its species composition and is related to Middle Asian fauna (Tibet, Himalaya, and others), as well as to fauna of the deserts and steppes of Central Asia. The fauna of Pamir has much in common with the fauna of the Himalayas and Tibet. High eleva-tions (from 3,500- 7,000 meters above sea level), complex relief, inclined slopes, slow flowing rivers, an abundance of hot springs, a very cold winter (temperatures reach minus 60°Ñ), and a short summer enables the inhab-itation of particular species of birds and mam-mals. On the Pamir, there are no amphibians and reptiles. Among rare mammal species, the following are especially notable: Pamir argali, snow leopard, red wolf, lynx, and brown bear.
Among birds, those most needing protection are: the Pallas sand grouse, snowcock, Himalayan griffon, and brown-headed gull.
"Tigrovaya Balka" (in English, Tiger Valley) is located in the South-Tajikistan physiogeo-graphic region, to the north of the confluence of the Vakhsh and Pyndzh Rivers. Its config-uration is elongated from the southwest to the northeast. The reserve's territory encompass-es flood plain riparian woodlands along both shores of the lower flow of the Vakhsh River.
Along the river's left bank, the sandy massif of the Kashkakum Desert and Buratau Mountain stretches from north to south. The southern spurs of the Aruktau Range, the Khodzha-Kaziyon Mountains, enter the reserve's territo-ry along the right bank of the Vakhsh River.
Administratively, the section of the reserve that is on the river's right bank is part of the Kabodiayo District, while the left bank is part of the Djilikul and Kumsangir Districts of the Khatlon Province.
The reserve is located in a square between 680 and 690E and 36040' - 37020' N. A one-kilome-ter-wide buffer zone runs along the northern border of "Tigrovaya Balka" between the reserve and farmland.
The total area of the nominated territory is 49,786 hectares.
Statement of Significance
"Tigrovaya Balka" SSNR (zapovednk) is the last large reserve on the planet that preserves the natural unique communities of Tugai (Central Asian riparian floodplain forests) flora and fauna.
The largest Tugai forest massif in Central Asia is preserved In "Tigrovaya Balka." Grey-blue poplar (Populus pruinosa Schrenk), which are found in communities with oleaster - Russian olive (Elaesgnus angustifolia L.), saltcedar (Tamarix ramosissima Ledeb.) and others, occupy the reserve's fold-plain and upper-flood plain river terraces. This poplar is a relict of Tertiary hygrophilous formations of an East-Asian Paleocene-type of Asiatic poplar, which was preserved in river valleys among deserts during the post-Tertiary aridization.
In addition to preserving essentially relict ecosystems, the reserve also preserves many animal species that are included in the International Red Book of IUCN and the Red Data Book of the former USSR. These are: the desert monitor, Central Asia cobra, black stork, serpent eagle, osprey, barbary falcon, houbara bustard, marbled polecat, Central Asian otter, striped hyena, barbary leopard, red sheep, goitered gazelle, Bukhara red deer, and Turgan tiger (extinct since 1958).
Among the republic's rare and threatened species that are encountered in the reserve are:
Fish: small amudarja shovelnose sturgeon, large amudarja shovelnose sturgeon, pike asp, Aral barbel, and Turkestan barbel. Forty-fifty years ago, the Aral pike spawned here, but no longer does now;
Reptiles: Central Asian tortoise, several species of geckos, lizards, snake eye lizards, tartar sand boa, saw-scaled viper, blunt-nosed viper, and others;
Birds: white stork, stone curlew, pin-tailed sand grouse, white-headed duck, Egyptian vulture, griffon vulture, and others;
Mammals: pygmy white-toothed shrew, weasel, jungle cat, Indian porcupine, long-clawed ground squirrel, and others;
"Tigrovaya Balka" SSNR (zapovednk) is the only place in Tajikistan where it is still possi-ble to encounter the Bukhara red deer (Cervus elaphus bactrianus) in its natural habitats. The last traces of the Turan tiger's presence in Tajikistan were identified here in "Tigrovaya Balka" SSNR (zapovednik) in 1954-58.
The reserve provides habitat to more than 60 species of rare and threatened vertebrate species of Tajikistan and Central Asia.
Tigrovaya Balka Lakes are wintering areas for more than fifty species of waterfowl, near-shore and fish-eating birds. They fly here