Fereydoon Kenar, Ezbaran, and Sorkh Ruds Ab-Bandans

Abstract

Fereydoon Kenar Ramsar Site or “Fereydoon Kenar, Ezbaran & Sorkh Ruds Ab-Bandans” (FDK) occupies a total area of 5,427 ha, situated on the coastal plain of the South Caspian, in Mazandaran province. This site is also a nonshooting area (NSA). It includes four “damgahs” or duck-trapping areas and Fereydoon Kenar Wildlife Refuge (48 ha). Each damgah consists of shallow freshwater impoundments situated in harvested rice paddies, which have been developed as a duck-trapping area, surrounded by forest strips and reed enclosures. The area is the only known overwintering quarters of the western population of the Siberian crane (Leucogeranus leucogeranus) and is also an important wintering area for many other waterbirds, notably dabbling ducks (Anas spp.) and grey geese (Anser spp.). With the exception of small streams, the wetlands are almost entirely modified or man-made, consisting of a large expanse of rice fields surrounding four isolated damgah areas – shallow reservoirs that are flooded in winter with the dual purpose of providing irrigation water for the rice fields and attracting large numbers of waterfowl. Being located at the crossroads of the western, central, and eastern Palearctic and with a mild and wet winter climate, phenomenal numbers of migratory birds pass through and overwinter in the south Caspian lowlands, making it one of the truly great wintering sites in the world. Fereydoon Kenar NSA is not officially in the protected area network; therefore, the resolution of most threats to wintering Siberian cranes and other waterbirds requires a collaborative approach based on comanagement principles. The traditional duck-trapping practices used at the damgahs are slowly dwindling, and it is possible that in time they might cease altogether, replaced by hunting with shotguns as in other areas. High land prices have attracted local farmers to sell off their land for holiday accommodation and similar development; thus fragmentation and piecemeal loss of the rice field landscape are taking place, exacerbated by infrastructure development.