Barsa-Kelmes Nature Reserve - Kazakhstan

Balsa Kelmes Island was originally 133 km² in area during the 1980s, but as the Aral sea became more and more shallow it steadily grew, until in the 1990s it ceased to be an island. Its highest altitude is some 113 m. It encompasses the Barsa-Kelmes Nature Reserve established in 1939 with the aim of protecting its salt-clay desert vegetation, consisting of black and white saksaul, tamarisk and 264 other typical desert species, as well as the corresponding fauna who inhabit the reserve.

The core zone of the Barsakelmes Biosphere Reserve has been under state protection since 1939, when the Barsakelmes state nature reserve was established within the limits of Barsakelmes island. At that time, the island was situated close to the central part of the Aral Sea and covered an area of 18,000 ha. At the end of the twentieth century, shrinkage of the Aral Sea exposed a large area of marine plain around Barsakelmes that linked the island with the mainland. The dried bottom of the Aral Sea subsequently became an arena for the establishment of flora, fauna and unique ecosystems. It acts as a natural ‘laboratory’ for the observation of natural desert ecosystems in their initial stages under conditions of climate change.

The unique flora of Barsakelmes reflects regional botanical diversity typically found in Turanian deserts. Widely distributed zonal vegetation types include Artemisia terrae-albae, Anabasis salsa and Haloxylon aphyllum.

There are 12 species of reptiles, 178 bird species and 27 mammal species in the area. Among the mammal species, special attention should be paid to herbivore species of rodents and ungulates. Two species of jerboas – Five-toed pygmy jerboa (Cardiocranius paradocus) and dwarf fat-tailed jerboa (Pygeretmus pumilio) – are native inhabitants of the island. The main protected animal species are ungulates such as the saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica), the onager (Equus hemionus) and the goitered gazelle (Gazella subgutturosa).

The reserve also includes herds of kulan (wild ass), as well as saiga antelope and dzheyran (steppe gazelles). These days, 150 kulan continue to live here and their number increases by 20 to 25 each year. 

The Syrdarya Delta is an official Ramsar Wetland Site and Barsa-kelmes is also an important as a breeding place for migrating birds. 

In total, around 19,000 people live in the transition area of the reserve. Agriculture, fisheries, and crop and livestock production are the main economic activities. In recent years, the local population has seen the growth of shops and services in villages and the organization of bus and cargo transportation.

The reserve includes four nomadic Kazakhs settlements including the Kerderi archeological monuments located on the former Silk Road, which date back to the twelfth to fourteenth centuries. The most renowned of these is the Bekmana mausoleum, which is considered a holy site amongst local pilgrims.

Source:http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/environment/ecological-sciences/biosphere-reserves/asia-and-the-pacific/kazakhstan/barsakelmes/

Barsa-Kelmes Photos

Sources: various

S7 Airlines flights Moscow to Tashkent

S7 Airlines began two additional flights per week between Moscow and Tashkent on 3 August 2018.

Previously 2 flights a week on Tuesdays and Sundays now in addition travelling on Thursdays and Fridays departing Domodedovo airport at 05:30am and land at Tashkent airport at 11:30am (Tashkent time).The return flights leave Tashkent at 13:00pm and arrive at Domodedovo Airport at 15:20pm.
S7 use  modern and comfortable Airbus A320 aircraft designed to transport 8 passengers in business class and 150 passengers in economy class. Passengers will also be able to experience the convenience of transferring to flights to other destinations in S7’s wide network, without leaving Domodedovo airport

S7 Airlines is a Safety Leaders Award winner in “Transportation Safety: Flight Safety” category and in 2017 Group member airlines carried more than 14.2 million passengers.

Air tickets for S7 Airlines flights can be purchased on the www.s7.ru, through applications for the iPhone and Android and in all air ticket sales offices. To find out the exact information about flights, book and buy tickets, you can also call the S7 Airlines’ contact center.

Saiga (Saiga tatarica) Facts for Kids

Did you know?

The saiga is recognizable by an extremely unusual, over-sized, and flexible, nose structure. The nose is supposed to warm up the air in winter and filters out dust in summer.

• Saiga are nomadic creatures that frequently cross borders of provinces and countries during their several-hundred-mile migrations to winter grazing areas.
• Social structure. Saiga form herds of 30-40 animals.
• Lifespan. 6 to 10 years.
• Breeding. Gestation period is 140-150 days, with litter size 1-2. (A female saiga will begin breeding and give birth to her first calf by the time she’s a year old).
• Diet. Grasses, steppe lichens, herbs and shrubs.
• The saiga can migrate over distances of up to 1,000 kilometres between summer and winter.
• Saiga herds once numbered in their millions, but the global population has declined rapidly to just thousands. (Poaching and habia loss)

https://www.fauna-flora.org/species/saiga

Soviet Era Mosaics Nukus

New Gas Reserves Discovered in Karakalpakstan

Uzbekneftegaz has reported finding new industrial gas condensate reserves in the Nizhny Surgil area of ​​the Ustyurt plateau in Karakalpakstan. The company have detected the presence of significant volumes of gas and condensate at a depth of 3,600 meters and have assessed that they can be commercially exploited and will prepare proposals for further exploration at the Lower Surgil field.

 

The Ustyurt plateau is one of the most important sources for the growth of hydrocarbons in Central Asia. At the end of 2016 Gazprom and Uzbekneftegaz, established a Natural Gas Stream joint venture for gas production at the Jel field (GKM) on the Ustyurt plateau. The project is expected within the next 10 years to reach a production capacity of some 1.5 billion cubic meters of gas and 76,000 tons of condensate. The investment to develop the project being expected to be in the region of 700 million US dollars. In total, Uzbekneftegaz plans to increase its hydrocarbon production to 53.5 billion cubic metres of gas condensate and oil by 1.9 million tons 2017-2021. (In 2017 Uzbekistan produced 56.4 billion cubic meters of gas and 806 thousand tons of oil).

Source: https://www.rbasia.uz/single-post/2018/01/26/New-Gas-reserves-discovered-in-Uzbekistan

Samarkand Blue

Sources: Various