Geography-Geological Department of Tbilisi State University

Vakhushti Bagrationi Institute of Geography, Georgian Academy of Science

 

 

THE INTERNATIONAL ELECTRONIC CONFERENCE

 

NATURAL POTENTIAL OF THE MOUNTAINOUS TERRITORIES: SITUATION, PROBLEMS, PROSPECTS

 

Internet/E-mail discussion 25.05 – 25.07.2003

 

BIODIVERSITY OF THE CAUCASUS ECOREGION AND LONG-TERM VISION ON ITS CONSERVATION AND SUSTAINABLE USE

 

N.Zazanashvili¹, A.Aghili², S.Kalem³, A.Kandaurov⁴, V.Krever⁵,

K.Manvelyan⁶, M.Suleimanov⁷

 

¹       WWF Caucasus Programme Office, M. Aleksidze St 11, 380093 Tbilisi, Georgia, [email protected]

²          Center for Sustainable Development (CENESTA), [email protected]

³      WWF Turkey, skal[email protected]

⁴      Institute of Zoology of the Georgian Academy of Sciences, [email protected]

⁵      WWF Russia Programme Office, [email protected]

⁶      Institute of Botany of the Armenian Academy of Sciences, [email protected]

⁷      Ecological Union of Azerbaijan, [email protected]

 

Introduction

The Caucasus Region is one of the WWF Global 200 Ecoregions. Ecoregions highlight the most outstanding terrestrial, freshwater, and marine habitats, and are designed to serve as a blueprint for biodiversity conservation at a global scale. The Caucasus is also between the top 25 biologically richest and most endangered hotspots in the world identified by Conservation International. Two of these hotspots are found in Europe – the Mediterranean and the Caucasus. The region has also been named a large herbivore hotspot by WWF’s Large Herbivore Initiative. Eleven large herbivores, as well as five large carnivores, are found over a relatively small area. 

Ecoregions function effectively as conservation units at regional scales because they encompass similar biological communities, and their boundaries roughly coincide with the areas in which key ecological processes most strongly interact. They are defined as relatively large areas of land or water that contain a geographically distinct assemblage of natural communities. They share the majority of their species, dynamics, and environmental conditions. The advantages of targeting the Ecoregion for conservation are many. For one, the fate of natural ecosystems, endangered species, and natural resource use can be addressed across political boundaries. An Ecoregion approach allows us to set more meaningful goals for conserving biodiversity and ensuring socio-economic welfare for people in the entire region. Operating at a regional scale will help us achieve conservation results that are ecologically viable, for example by setting aside networks of key conservation areas, creating migration corridors, and preserving the ecological processes needed to maintain healthy ecosystems. Just as ecosystems cross-political boundaries, so do the cultural and economic features of an Ecoregion and the threats to its biodiversity.

Biodiversity

The Caucasus Ecoregion denotes a total area of 580,000 km² including the nations of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, in addition to the North Caucasus portion of the Russian Federation (including the Dagestan, Chechnya, Ingushetia, Northern Osetia, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachai-Cherkesia, and Adigea Autonomous Republics), northeastern Turkey and part of northwestern Iran (see map of the Ecoregion). In order to delineate the Ecoregion’s borders two main criteria were used by the specialists from the Caucasian countries: (1) traditional geographical interpretation of the Caucasus as isthmus between the Black and Caspian seas coincided with corresponding catchment area and (2) bio-geographical criteria.

In terms of its origin, the Caucasus isthmus is part of a huge mountain belt, the Alpine. The Caucasus is a region of natural contrasts, and is composed of the several prominent elements. These include the North Caucasus Plain (the eastern part of which is below sea level), the Great Caucasus Range (with the highest peak being Mt. Elbrus at 5642m), the Trans­cau­casian Depression, the Lesser Caucasus moun­tain chain (to 3500 m), and the South Cauca­sian Uplands (covering parts of the Asia Minor, the Armenian and the Iranian Uplands, with the highest point being Ararat at 5165 m). Glaciers are concentrated mainly in the Great Caucasus Range, with over 1000 of them covering 1450 km². Not surprisingly, the climate is also very variable. Mean annual rainfall in the southwestern part of the region is quite high, exceeding 4000 mm in the coastal area of the Black Sea; in the southeastern part of the Caspian coast, it rarely exceeds 150 mm. Mean annual temperature in the South Caucasian part of the Black Sea coast and the Caspian Sea coast is 15⁰ C declining from south to north and with increasing altitude.

The Caucasus Region is a hot spot of plant and animal diversity and endemism. Located at a biological crossroads, species from Central and Northern Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East, and North Africa mingle with endemics found nowhere else.  Over 6,500 species of vascular plants are found in the Caucasus Region. At least 1,600 plant species are found only here – the highest level of endemism in the Temperate Zone of the Northern Hemisphere. Refugia left from the Tertiary Period are centers of plant endemism today. The Colchic (in the catchment basin of the Black Sea) and Hyrcanic (the extreme southeastern part of the Caucasus) regions are distinguished by unique biodiversity: Imeretian and pontic oaks (Quercus imeretina, Q. pontica), Medwedew’s birch (Betula medwedewii), Ungern’s and Smirow’s rhododendrons (Rhododendron ungernii, Rh. Smirnowii), epigea (Epigaea gaultherioides), and many others occur only here; chestnut-leaf oak (Quercus castaneifolia), Hyrcanic poplar (Populus hyrcana), danae (Danaë racemosa), and others are endemic relics of the Hyrcanic Region. One-third of the endemic species is thought to have originated in the Greater Caucasus Range. Seventeen endemic plant genera thrive in the Caucasus, nine of which are associated with high mountain plant communities.

A variety of ecosystems are found over a relatively small area, due in part to sharp rises in elevation and distinct changes in climate. In the lowlands of the North Caucasus Plain, the vegetation changes from steppe (grasslands) in the West, with feathergrass (Stipa spp.) and fescue (Festuca valesiaca), to semi-deserts and then deserts in the East, made up primarily of wormwood (Artemisia taurica and others).  In the Transcaucasian Depression, ecosystems range from swamp forests of alder (Alnus barbata) and Caucasus wing-nut (Pterocarya pterocarpa) to arid woodlands of juniper (Juniperus spp.) and pistachio (Pistacia mutica), to semi-deserts and deserts. Relic oaks (Quercus imeretina, Q. hartwissiana, Q. pendunculiflora) line floodplains and river terraces. In the foothills of the southwestern Caucasus, Colchic broadleaf forests dominate the terrain up to about 600 m. Higher up, sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa) and oriental beech (Fagus orientalis) forests take over the landscape.  A dense evergreen understory is typical in Colchic forests from sea level to sub-alpine elevations:  pontic rhododendron (Rhododendron ponticum), cherry-laurel (Laurocerasus officinalis), and Colchic holly-tree (Ilex colchica) are the main evergreen dominants. Georgian oak (Q. iberica) and oriental and Caucasian hornbeam (Carpinus orientalis, C. caucasica) mixed forests, as well as oriental beech forests (Fagus orientalis) are common in the southeastern Caucasus Mountains. Oriental spruce (Picea orientalis) and Caucasian fir (Abies nordmanniana) extend from 1400 to 2000 m above sea level (mainly in the western Caucasus), along with oriental beech, Eastern oak (Q. macranthera), and Caucasian pine (Pinus kochiana). Endemic species of birch (Betula spp.) and shrub vegetation grow at higher elevations from 1800 to 2500 m.  Alpine areas, from 2500 to 3000 m, are covered with grasslands and thickets of relic Caucasian rhododendron (Rhododendron caucasicum). Endemic plant species are common above 3000 m. Vegetation in the South Caucasus Highlands differs from that found in the vertical zones further north. Mixed Eastern oak woodlands dominate the terrain, along with mountain steppes and thorn-cushion steppe vegetation such as golden milkvetch (Astragalus aureus), horned sainfoin (Onobrychis cornuta), and other species.

The unusual high level of animal diversity for the Temperate Zone is a result of the convergence of three different zones of the Paleoarctic zoogeographic region:  the Euro-Siberian, Mediterranean, and Central Asian zones. Over 160 mammals inhabit the Caucasus Ecoregion. Thirty-two of these are endemic to the region. Newly evolved species mix here with relic species, many of which are primitive mammals from the Mesocricetus and Sicista genera. The very unusual long-clawed mole-vole (Prometheomys shaposchnikovi) is the only representative of an endemic genus in the rodent family Muridae.

A number of flagship species are important for biodiversity conservation in the Caucasus.  The Caucasian leopard (Panthera pardus ciscaucasica) is the rarest species in the Ecoregion.  Widespread throughout the Caucasus a century ago, the big cat is now near extinction: according to the recent surveys carried out by WWF experts in 2001 only 22-25 individuals have remained mainly in the southern part of the Ecoregion. By conserving leopard habitat and the animal’s food base, important habitat for many other species will be preserved simultaneously.

Several species of ungulates are threatened in the Caucasus Ecoregion. Turs, thought to be actually two distinct endemic species – the West Caucasian tur (Capra caucasica) and the East Caucasian tur (C. cylindricornis), live on the Greater Caucasus Range. Tur populations have declined significantly in recent years, and the animal is now included in the IUCN Red List. The highly endangered bezoar goat (Capra aegagrus), the ancestor of the domestic goat, is found only in the eastern part of the Greater Caucasus Range, in the southern portion of the Lesser Caucasus Mountain Chain and South Caucasian uplands.

Bird diversity is moderate in the Caucasus Ecoregion with about 400 species, three of which are endemics. The coasts of the Black and Caspian seas are important stop over sites for millions of migrating birds, which fly over the isthmus each spring and autumn bet­we­en their summer and win­ter homes. The three endemic bird species in the region are the Cauca­sian black grouse (Tetrao mlokosiewiczi) – found in alpine areas throughout the region, the Caucasian snowcock (Tetraogallus caucasicus) – found only in the Greater Caucasus Range, and the Caucasian warbler (Phylloscopus lorenzii).  Among predatory birds and vultures, lammergeier (Gypaëtus barbatus), golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), imperial eagle (A. heliaca), and Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus) are endangered in the Caucasus Ecoregion. A subspecies of the peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus caucasicus) is especially rare, with only 30 to 50 pairs left in the Ecoregion. Poaching and habitat loss are the main reasons for the bird’s decline.

Of the 80 species of reptiles in the Caucasus, 21 are endemic to the Ecoregion. Many of these species occupy total ranges of only a few thousand square kilometers. The endemic genus of lizards Darevskia exhibits particular diversity, with 21 of the world’s species occurring in the Caucasus, and 16 of these endemic. There are only 16 amphibians in the Caucasus, three of which are endemic to the region. The Caucasian salamander (Mertensiella caucasica) is found only in the western Caucasus in Georgia and in Turkey. Over 200 species of fish are found in the region, including species that migrate between freshwater rivers and the Caspian and Black Seas; of these 73 are endemics.

Biodiversity vision

Currently the ecoregional planning process is on-going with the support of/in collaboration with Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF), Conservation International, Kreditanstalt fuer Wiedeneranfbau (KfW/AHT), Birdlife International, WWF Russia Programme office, WWF Turkey, CENESTA (Iran), partner NGOs from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia and scientific community of the Caucasian countries. Elaboration of long-term vision is significant step in ecoregional planning process. Main steps for definition of biodiversity vision are the following.

Reconnaissance phase

During the reconnaissance phase 70 focal species of all major taxa (plants, mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish) have been selected for further identification of priority conservation areas in Caucasus by specialists from 6 Caucasian countries. 52 of them are included in IUCN Red List as critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable, while 34 species are endemic to the region. Their ranges and key sites for conservation were mapped. Various thematic maps (landscapes, land use and land cover, protected areas, etc.) have been also prepared for GIS analyses.

Biodiversity vision workshop

Vision Workshop was held in November 2002 in Tbilisi, Georgia. The participants – more than 50 experts and specialist from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, Russian Federation and Turkey – divided into five thematic groups, approved the species maps and designed the maps of important areas of each taxon. In total, 260 important taxon-areas were identified (29 for mammals, 121 for birds, 28 for reptiles and amphibians, 22 – for fish and 60 – for plants). GIS group prepared the common map of important taxon-areas for selection of overall conservation priorities.

Based on the map of important taxon-areas, 54 priority conservation areas, critical for maintaining the unique biodiversity of Caucasus ecoregion, were selected (see the map of Priority Areas and Corridors). The total territory of identified priority areas equaled to 135,100 km2, which covers 23% of the ecoregion’s entire area. Most of the priority areas are coincided with mountains, e.g. 11 priority areas were selected on the Greater Caucasus, on the Lesser Caucasus and South Caucasian uplands – 19, Talysh-Alborz range – 2. Workshop participants evaluated the results of the GIS analysis for existing protected areas and identified important wildlife corridors to ensure connectivity among the selected priority conservation areas.

At the end of the workshop, the experts defined the long-term goals for conservation of unique biodiversity of the Caucasus ecoregion and urgent measures for its implementation. Special group, consisting from representatives of all six countries, prepared the draft Vision Statement, which was adopted by all participants during the closing session:

“The Caucasus represents one of the most biologically rich temperate regions on Earth. The region is distinguished with an incredible diversity of ecosystems that includes deserts, temperate rain forests and alpine meadows. The Caucasus is also renowned for its high number of endemic species and rare evolutionary phenomena.

Our vision for the Caucasus is of a region, where healthy populations of native plants and animals flourish; habitats, landscapes and natural processes are preserved, and where the vibrant diversity of our people actively participate in the equitable and sustainable management and use of the natural resources, through the following strategies:

1. Protected area network coordinated across Ecoregion

2. Collaborative management through involvement of all stakeholders, from national governments to NGOs and local communities

3. Transboundary cooperation

4. Restoration of degraded ecosystems

5. Harmonized legislative and policy framework

6. Scientific researches and monitoring coordinated across the Ecoregion, including issues of indigenous knowledge

7. Environmental education and public awareness.”

Final steps of ecoregional planning envisage preparation of conservation and action plans for biodiversity conservation and sustainable use in the Caucasus ecoregion, which could be oriented to the effective implementation of conservation measures on the Ecoregion’s scale.  

 

Bibliography

1.      Abuladze A.V. Status and conservation problems of raptors in the Caucasus. Abstr. Inter. Conf. on Holarctic Birds of Prey, Balajoz, Spain, April 17-22, 1995, 49 p.

2.      Darevsky I.S. Protection of amphibians and reptiles in the reserves of Caucasus. -In: Amfibii i reptilii zapovednikh territorij. Nauka, Moscow, 1987, pp. 85-101.

3.      Dolukhanov A.G., Vegetation of Georgia, Wood vegetation of Georgia. v. I part 1, Tbilisi: Metsniereba, 1989, 237p.

4.      Gvozdetsky, N.A. Caucasus, Moscow: Geografgiz, 1963, p. 262. (Russian).

5.      Chatwin M.E., Kikodze D., Svanidze T., Chikvaidze J., Gvritishvili M., Tarkhnishvili D.N. (Eds.), Georgian Biodiversity Country Study Report, (1996, Program "Assistance for preparation of Biodiversity Country Study in the Republic of Georgia"), UNEP, Ministry of Environment of Georgia, Noah's Ark Centre for Recovery of Endangered Species, Tbilisi, Georgia, 1997, p. 180 (in English and Georgian).

6.      Gromov I.M., Baranova G.I. The catalogue of the mammls of USSR. (Pliocen-present), Leningrad, Nauka, 1981, 456 str.  (in Russian).

7.      Heptner W.H., Sludsky A.A.  Mammals of the Soviet Union. v 2, part 2, Predators (Hyenas and Cats). - М. Higher school, 1972, p. 549. (in Russian)

8.      Ivanov A.I. The catalogue of Birds of the USSR. Leningrad, Nauka, 1976, p. 275.

9.      Lebedev V.D., Spanowskaya V.D., Savvaitova K.A., Sokolov L.I., Tsepkin E.A., Fishes of the USSR, Moscow: Misl, 1969, p. 430  (In Russian).

10.  Krever V., Zazanashvili N., Jungius H., Williams L., Petelin D. (Editors) Biodiversity of the Caucasus Ecoregion: An Analysis of Biodiversity, Current Threats and Initial Investment Portfolio. WWF, Baku-Erevan-Gland-Moscow-Tbilisi. Published by "Signar 5", Moscow, 2001, 132 pp.

11.  Myers N., Mittermeier R. A., Mittermeier C. G., da Fonseca G. A. B., Kent J. Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities IUCN, Gland, Switzerland, Produced by Nature Conser­vation Bureau Limited, UK, Nature, vol. 403, 2000, pp 853-845.

12.  Sokhadze E.V. Limestone and Vegetation, Tbilisi: Metsniereba, 1982 p. 176 (In Russian).

13.  Vainberg P.I. Information about the Present Situation of the Mountain Goats in the CIS Territory. Abstr. of Inter. Conf. "Rare species of the mammals in Russia and adjoining territories" (April 9-11, 1997, Moscow): 1997, p. 238. (In Russian).

14.  WWF International, 100 European Forests We Should Protect Now (Map). WCMC (World Conservation Monitoring Centre), Cambridge (U.K.) 1997, 2 p.

15.  Zazanashvili N., Sanadiradze G., Bukhnikashvili A., Caucasus, In: "Hotspots: Earth's biologi­cally richest and most endangered terrestrial ecoregions", by R.A. Mittermaier, N. Myers, P.G. Gil, C.G. Mittermaier: CEMEX, S.A. Printed in Japan by Toppan Printing Co., 1999. p.p. 269-273.

 

 

БИОРАЗНООБРАЗИЕ КАВКАЗСКОГО ЭКОРЕГИОНА И ДОЛГОСРОЧНАЯ ПЕРСПЕКТИВА  ЕГО СОХРАНЕНИЯ И УСТОЙЧИВОГО ИСПОЛЬЗОВАНИЯ.

Н. И. Зазанашвили, А.Ахили, С.Калем, А.С.Кандауров, В.Г.Кревер, К. Манвелян,

М. Сулейманов.

 

Кавказ - один из двухсот "экорегионов WWF", обеспечивающих сохранение биоразнообразия в глобальном масштабе. Это одна из 25 "горячих" точек мира, определенных  CI. Экорегиональный подход позволяет выбрать цели, наиболее важные для сохранения биоразнообразия, и  помогает достичь жизнеспособных результатов в региональном масштабе.

Кавказский Экорегион занимает 580000 км². Он включает Армению, Азербайджан, Грузию, часть Кавказа в Российской Федерации, части северо-восточной Турции и северо-западного Ирана. Из 6500 разновидностей сосудистых растений, найденных на Кавказе, 1600 эндемики. Это самый высокий уровень эндемизма в умеренной зоне северного полушария. Необычно высок, для умеренной зоны и уровень разнообразия животных. Более чем 160 млекопитающих (из них 32  эндемика), 400 видов птиц, 80 видов рептилий (21 эндемик), 16 амфибий (4 эндемика) встречаются здесь.

WWF, при поддержке международных и региональных организаций, ведет работу по определению долговременной перспективы в сохранении биологического разнообразия Кавказа.

Для определения приоритетных, для сохранения биоразнообразия, участков на Кавказе специалисты из шести Кавказских стран отобрали 70 видов из всех основных таксонов (52 вида из «Красного списка» МСОП и  34 – эндемики). Их ареалы и ключевые места обитания были нанесены на карты.

На Симпозиуме в Тбилиси, более 50 экспертов из всех Кавказских стран одобрили карты ареалов видов и разработали карты территорий, наиболее важных для каждого таксона. Всего были определены 260 таких областей (29 для млекопитающих, 121 для птиц, 28 для рептилий и амфибий, 22 - для рыбы и 60 для растений). Группа ГИС подготовила общую карту наиболее представительных областей. Основываясь на этой карте, эксперты отобрали 54, критические приоритетные области. Их общая площадь составила 135100 км² или 23% всей площади экорегиона. Участники симпозиума идентифицировали природные коридоры, необходимые для интеграции между приоритетными областями. Затем экспер­ты определили долгосрочные цели для сохранения биоразнообразия Кавказского экорегиона и меры, которые необходимо срочно предпринять. Группа, состоящая из представителей всех стран, подготовила проект заявления о перспективе, которое было принято на заключительной сессии. Дальнейшие шаги экорегионального планирования предусматривают подготовку планов действия для сохранения и устойчивого исполь­зования биоразнообразия на Кавказе.