Situated on the border of the Russian Federation, the Uvs Lake, the largest in Mongolia, is encircled by the semi-arid foothills of the southern Altay Mountains. Uvs has a flat shallow basin, which makes it a natural salt lake. The transboundary biosphere reserve brings together Uvs Nuur Basin Biosphere Reserve, on the Mongolian side, and Ubsunorskaya Kotlovina Biosphere Reserve, on the Russian side, both of which were designated in 1997. It is home to approximately 19,372 people.
Description
Map
Surface : 2,242,112 ha
- Core area(s): 125,893 ha
- Buffer zone(s): 1,115,880 ha
- Transition zone(s): 1,000,339 ha
Location: 90°30'28.54"N - 50°34'5.035"E
Administrative Authorities
Administration of the Uvs Nuur BasinBR
11th Bagh
Ulaangom city 85181, Uvs province
Mongolia
Tel.: +976 807 669 30
Email: uvsbasin@mpa.gov.mn / odsurenboroodoi@gmail.com
Administration of the Ubsunorskaya Kotlovina Biosphere Reserve in Russian Federation
Shaganarsk Street
Kysil city, the Republic of Tyva
Russian Federation
Tel.: +8 (39422) 537 70
Email: ubsunur@yandex.ru / vkanzay@mail.ru
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Ecological Characteristics
The Uvs Lake Depression, a core area of the Altay Sayan global eco-region, bridges two entire biomes of the Siberian taïga and Mongolian steppes.
The site provides habitat to emblematic species such as the Argali sheep (Ovis ammon), snow leopard (Panthers uncia), Altay ibex (Capra sibirca), as well as migratory birds.
Socio-Economic Characteristics
Local communities main activity in the transboundary biosphere reserve is agriculture.
On the Mongolian side, nomadic livestock husbandry, crop production and forage harvesting are partially developed.
In the Russian part, nomadic livestock husbandry dominates over agriculture due to natural conditions.
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Last updated: January 2021