Sudochye

In the past, Sudochye Lake was a large, albeit shallow, basin in the Amu Darya delta, the largest delta lake. It occupied the lowlands of Aibugir . In this capacity, Sudochye is already marked on the sea map of A. I. Butakov (1848-1849), where the swamped lake Aybugir or Laudan is signed . The lake extended 24 km southeast of the shores of the Aral Sea (a plot southwest of Cape Urga ) ^[2] . Along the western shore of the lake lies the eastern chink of the Ustyurt plateau ^[4] .

Earlier Sudochye was fed through the channels of the Amu Darya Raushan and Priemuzyak and was connected by a channel to the Aral Sea . The water surface of the lake reached 350 km ², while its length reached 250 km with an average width of 15 km and an average depth of 2 m. Mineralization of water varied between 0.6-1.7 ‰. Sudochka served as a spawning ground for semi-migratory fish species; up to 2000 tons of fish were caught ^[1] .

In the 1950-1970s, due to land irrigation, the inflow into the lake significantly decreased and it completely lost its significance ^[1] . In the 1960s, due to the decrease in the Aral Sea level and the blocking of the Raushan canal, which interrupted the flow of almost all river water, Sudochye began to dry out. In 1968, the shallowed lake broke up into separate reservoirs ^[2] . In 1972, its area was 96 km² ^[4] .

However, at the same time, the flow is restored, mainly due to collector - drainage water. Amu Darya water began to be diverted to Sudochye along the Kungrad collector and the Main collector . The state of the lake turned out to be completely dependent on the water regime of these canals ^[2] . The National Encyclopedia of Uzbekistan notes that the size and mineralization of the lake are subject to rapid changes ^[4] .

In the “Geographical Encyclopedia” (2006) it is reported that the lake area is 333 km², the water edge is located at an altitude of 53 m above sea level, the mineralization of water is 3-4 g / l ^[1] . According to the National Encyclopedia of Uzbekistan (2000-2005), the average depth is 1.5 m ^[4] .

According to the “Aral Encyclopedia” (2008), now there are 4 reservoirs on the site of the former large lake: Akushpa , Bolshoi Sudochye , Karatereny and Begdulla-Aydin ^[2] . In 2000-2001, there was a catastrophic lack of water, during which the Great Sudochye even dried up ^[5] .

For the operation of the lake, a non-governmental organization was created - the Sudochye Lake Management Committee (CMOS). The committee includes associate members: State Joint-Stock Company Karakalpak-Balyk (Karakalpak-Fish), State Committee for Nature of the Republic of Karakalpakstan , Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources of the Republic of Karakalpakstan , Department of Nature Reserves and Hunting . Decisions adopted by the CCM are binding on all its associate members ^[6] .

Sudochye Lake is one of the richest in the diversity of avifauna reservoirs in Uzbekistan. In total, more than 230 bird species were recorded here, including 12 globally threatened species, as well as 3 threatened in Uzbekistan. During migratory migrations, waterfowl of 20 species form clusters of up to 86,000 individuals on the lake. In 1999-2005, a white duck duck was recorded on the lake, the number of which reached 4000 individuals - about half of the world population of the species ^{[7] [3]} . Up to 50 pairs of moths, as well as from 3 to 30 pairs of curly pelicans , 1 to 3 pairs of saker falcons (globally threatened species) nested on the lake ^[8] .

In the summer of 2014, a joint expedition of the Society for the Protection of Birds of Uzbekistan , the International Aral Sea Rescue Fund and the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) on Lake Sudochye discovered a large population of common flamingos listed in the Red Book of Uzbekistan . The colony numbers about 7000 nesting birds, which is about 1.4% of the total number of species in the world. This finding is especially noteworthy against the background of negative changes in local landscapes due to the instability of the water regime ^{[7] [3]} . In addition, a curly pelican, a pink pelican , a small cormorant , a small white heron , a spoonbill , a loaf , a mute swan , a white-eyed duck , a golden eagle , a black-headed laughter were observed on the lake ^[3] .

In 1991, the Sudochye State Ornithological Reserve was created on an area of ​​50 thousand ha ^[9] . In 2008, Sudochye Lake received the status of “The Most Important Ornithological Territory” (IBA) . Its inclusion in the Ramsar Convention ^{[7] [3] is considered} .

• I.S. Zonn, Michael H. Glanz . Aral Encyclopedia. - M .: "International Relations", 2008. S. 181. (Art. "Sudochi Bay, Sudochye Lake")
• I.S. Zonn, Michael H. Glanz . Aral Encyclopedia. - M.: “International Relations”, 2008. P. 113. (Art. “Sudochye Lake Management Committee (CLE))”
• Sudochye kўli - National Encyclopedia of Uzbekistan . - Tashkent, 2000-2005. ( Uzbek )
• Sudochye // Dictionary of modern geographical names / Rus. geo about . Mosk. Centre; Under the total. ed. Acad. V.M. Kotlyakova . Institute of Geography RAS . - Yekaterinburg: U-Factoria, 2006.
• Sudochye // Great Soviet Encyclopedia : [in 30 vol.] / Ch. ed. A.M. Prokhorov . - 3rd ed. - M .: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1969-1978.