As part of the official visit of the Uzbekistan delegation to Switzerland, organized with the assistance of the Permanent Mission of Uzbekistan to the UN in Geneva, a ceremony was held to include Sudochye Lake in the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance.

The lake became the 4th site of Uzbekistan, officially included in the list of the Ramsar Convention. Previously, the list included Dengizkul – 2001, the Aydar-Arnasay system of lakes – 2008, and the Tudakul and Kuymazar reservoirs – 2020.

Sudochye Lake is a habitat for 24 species of fish, 230 species of birds (118 hydrophilic species), of which 24 species of birds are included in the IUCN Red List (12 species) and the Red Book of Uzbekistan, 30 species of mammals, of which two species are listed in the Red Book of Uzbekistan and three species in the IUCN Red List.

Musonda Mumba, Secretary General of the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat, presented the certificate of accession to the Minister of Natural Resources of Uzbekistan, Aziz Abdukhakimov, and congratulated him on the successful approval of the nominated property.

Mr. Abdukhakimov noted the importance of wetlands in conserving migratory waterfowl species, the invaluable role of mitigating the effects of climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide, and the vast potential in developing ecological tourism.

UzA