Biodiversity Profile of Afghanistan - Disasters and Conflicts - UNEP

Ab-i-Estada.was.reported.by.Förstner.and.Bartsch.
(1970). to. have. a. normal. spring. volume. of. 270.
million.m 3 ,.falling.to.about.140.m 3 .in.the.autumn.
and.exposing.many.km².of.mudflats.in.the.process..
It.is.fed.by.the.Ghazni,.Gardez.and.Nahara.Rivers.
collectively.draining.eastern.Ghazni.Province.and.
the. extreme. northwest. of. Paktika. Province.. The.
Gardez. River. is. now. dammed. at. Band-i-Sardeh.
and. the. Ghazni. River. at. Band-i-Sultan.. Influx. of.
water. from. the. rivers. is. primarily. from. snowmelt.
and.is.largely.limited.to.the.spring..Throughout.the.
rest.of.the.year,.the.water.level.of.Ab-i-Estada.is.
dependent.on.ground.water.(IUCN.1993)..Förstner.
and.Bartsch.(1970).characterized.it.as.primarily.a.
ground-water.lake..During.very.wet.years,.water.
flows.out.of.Ab-i-Estada.through.the.Lora.from.the.
west.side.of.the.lake..The.Lora.ultimately.joins.the.
Helmand.River.through.the.Arghastan.and.the.Dori.
(Khan.2002)..There.are.currently.about.30.water.
pumps.on.the.west.side.of.the.lake.and.as.many.
as.150.in.Nawa.woleswali..Typically,.water.pumps.
are.run.by.diesel.engines.and.water.is.transported.
through.4-inch.(9-cm).diameter.galvanized.steel.
pipe.(Khan.2002)..According.to.locals,.the.water.
table. is. falling. and. the. quality. of. the. water. is.
declining..Ab-i-Estada.also.experiences.periodic.
droughts,. the. last. one. extending. from. 1998. to.
2003..The.lake.is.reported.to.have.again.been.dry.
in.2004.(Omrani.and.Leeman.2005,.pp..706)..
Using. information. based. on. previous. reports,.
Khan. (2002). estimated. the. bird. diversity. of. Abi-Estada.
and. surroundings. to. be. 122. species..
Ab-i-Estada.is.remarkable.for.the.large.numbers.
of.greater.flamingoes.that.breed.on.the.islands..
Flamingoes.arrive.at.high.water.levels.in.late.March.
or. April. and. depart. when. water. levels. decline.
in. late. September. or. early. October.. Shank. and.
Rodenburg.(1977).summarized.data.on.numbers.
of.flamingoes.breeding.between.1947.and.1976..
Numbers.varied.from.none.to.more.than.9,000..
No.estimates.have.been.available.since.the.mid-
1970s.. Flamingoes. and. other. waterfowl. have.
always.been.hunted.by.locals,.but.hunting.was.
reported.to.be.especially.heavy.during.the.period.
1979-1991.when.a.military.garrison.was.stationed.
near.the.lake.(Jamil.1994).
Ab-i-Estada.was.once.a.critical.stopover.for.the.
central. population. of. Siberian. cranes.. These.
cranes.bred.in.the.Russian.tundra.and.wintered.in.
north-central.India..In.1977,.the.western.population.
for Global Environment Management (NCSA) for Afghanistan
was.estimated.at.only.57.individuals.(Sauey.1985)..
The.last.reliable.report.of.a.Siberian.Crane.at.Ab-i-
Estada.was.one.shot.in.1986.(Khan.2000)..In.2002,.
falcon. trappers. were. observed. working. the. dry.
flats. of. Ab-i-Estada. targeting. peregrine. falcons.
(Falco peregrinus)..There.were.reportedly.12.teams.
working.the.lake,.each.with.5-6.members..
Historically.there.were.no.settlements.in.the.semidesert.around.Ab-i-Estada,.although.nomads.from.
Qandahar.visited.the.area.in.summer..In.the.recent.
past,.nomadic.Ghelzai.Taraki.nomads.settled.at.
Ab-i-Estada.and.throughout.Nawa.(UNHCR.1990)..
Currently,.there.are.eight.villages.lying.within.10.
kilometres. of. Ab-i-Estada,. with. a. population. of.
approximately. 5,000. (Khan. 2002).. Population.
levels. are. increasing. rapidly. with. the. return. of.
refugees.and.internally.displaced.persons,.and.
natural.population.growth..
Ab-i-Estada. was. declared. a. National. Waterfowl.
and. Flamingo. Sanctuary. in. late. 1974. by. the.
Directorate. of. Wildlife. and. National. Parks. in.
the. Ministry. of. Agriculture.. The. Head. of. State.
approved.its.status.as.a.waterfowl.sanctuary.on.
December. 20,. 1977. (Order. no.. 707). based. on.
petition.no..1765.dated.June.6,.1977..Ten.game.
guards.were.appointed.in.1974.to.stop.hunting..
Six. guards. came. from. the. Republican. Guard.
(Guard-i-Jamuriat).and.four.came.from.the.local.
community. (Khan. 2002).. Ab-i-Estada. currently.
enjoys.no.institutional.protection.and.the.game.
guards.have.long.since.disappeared..Ab-i-Estada.
has.never.been.officially.recognized.as.a.Ramsar.
wetland.site.of.international.importance.
15.4 Dasht-i-Nawar
Dasht-i-Nawar. is. a. vast. (ca.. 600. km²),. highaltitude.
plain. in. the. Koh-i-Baba. range. of. the.
Hindu. Kush. Mountains. most. famous. for. seasonal.
occupation.by.large.numbers.of.Greater.Flamingoes.
(Phoenicopterus ruber).. The. plain. (dasht). is.
surrounded.by.largely.barren.mountains.rising.to.an.
elevation.of.more.than.4,800.m..In.the.dasht.there.is.
a.brackish.lake.(Ab-i-Nawar).approximately.14.km.in.
length.and.3.km.in.width.with.a.complex.of.40.islands.
in.the.range.of.35..to.500.m².(Shank.and.Rodenburg.
1977)..The.area’s.ecological.significance.is.primarily.
as.an.important.stopover.and.breeding.ground.for.
a.variety.of.waterfowl.and.wader.species..
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