Mantanha de Mogun-Taiga / Bacia de Ubs Nuur, Rússia

A Bacia de Ubs Nuur, que cobre uma área de mais de um milhão de hectares, é a bacia fechada mais setentrional da Ásia Central.

Tira o seu nome ao grande lago de Ubs Nuur, pouco profundo e muito salgado, que desempenha um papel muito importante na vida das aves migratórias, tanto fluviais e lacustres como marinhas.

O sítio, dividido em doze áreas protegidas, compreende uma vasta gama de ecossistemas que representam os principais biomas da Eurásia oriental.

O ecossistema das estepes alberga uma grande variedade de aves e nas zonas desérticas vivem ratos do deserto (jerbilos), jerboas e uma espécie rara de doninhas marmóreas. As zonas montanhosas servem de refúgio ao leopardo das neves, espécie em vias de extinção, bem como a ovelhas da montanha (argalis) e o ibex asiático.

FR:

Le Bassin d’Ubs Nuur, qui couvre une surface de plus de un million d’hectares, est le bassin fermé le plus septentrional d’Asie centrale. Il tire son nom de l’Ubs Nuur, un grand lac peu profond et très salé, qui joue un rôle important dans la vie des oiseaux migrateurs, tant aquatiques que marins. Le site, divisé en douze aires protégées, comprend une vaste gamme d’écosystèmes qui représentent les principaux biomes de l’Eurasie orientale. L’écosystème steppique entretient une riche diversité d’oiseaux et le désert un certain nombre de gerbilles, gerboises et putois marbrés rares. Les montagnes sont d’importants refuges pour le léopard des neiges (une espèce menacée), l’argali et le bouquetin d’Asie.

EN:

The Uvs Nuur Basin (1,068,853 ha), is the northernmost of the enclosed basins of Central Asia. It takes its name from Uvs Nuur Lake, a large, shallow and very saline lake, important for migrating birds, waterfowl and seabirds. The site is made up of twelve protected areas representing the major biomes of eastern Eurasia. The steppe ecosystem supports a rich diversity of birds and the desert is home to a number of rare gerbil, jerboas and the marbled polecat. The mountains are an important refuge for the globally endangered snow leopard, mountain sheep (argali) and the Asiatic ibex.

Outstanding Universal Value

Criterion (ix): The remote and enclosed salt lake system of Uvs Nuur with its high degree of naturalness is of international scientific importance due to its large-scale undisturbed climatic, hydrological and ecological processes and phenomena. Because of the relatively stable past and contemporary pastoral use of the grasslands and the absence of conversion or major human impacts over thousands of years, it constitutes a unique field site for a great variety of subjects, including research into the ongoing development of Uvs Nuur and other smaller lakes within the basin, and the still intact processes of long term lake salinisation and eutrophication. In addition to important past and current research efforts on both sides of the border and in recognition of its unique geophysical and biological characteristics, the Uvs Nuur Basin has also been selected as a field site for the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGPB), a global effort to monitor and understand global change.

Criterion (x): The serial property conserves the most valuable areas representing the much larger Uvs Nuur Basin, across an enormous range of ecosystems and habitats, including along a major altitudinal gradient. The diversity represents the major biomes of Central Asia with a corresponding floral and faunal diversity. There are important areas of different forest types and highly specialized vegetation in high altitudes, tundra systems and dry land ecosystems, including species and communities adapted to saline conditions. The more than 550 higher plants include relict species and a number of plants endemic to Mongolia and the Tuva Republic, with five species endemic to the lake basin. The various ecosystems support a rich faunal diversity, such as the argali sheep, Siberian ibex, Pallas's cat and the elusive and globally endangered snow leopard. The numerous rodents are of major ecological importance and include two vulnerable jerboa species and gerbil. The many ecological niches are occupied by an impressive density of breeding raptors. The property is also of major importance for waterfowl, as well as a stepping stone in the bird migration between Siberia and wintering ranges in China and South Asia.

UNESCO site: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/769    »    texts in Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Spanish and  Japanese.