International Single Species Action Plan for the Conservation of the Argali Ovis ammon 1 This Single Species Action Plan has been prepared to assist the fulfillment of obligations under: Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) International Single Species Action Plan for the Conservation of the Argali Ovis ammon CMS Technical Series No. XX April 2014 Prepared and printed with funding from 2 Support for this action plan: The development and production of this action plan has been achieved with the financial support of the European Union via the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ) in the framework of the FLERMONECA Regional Project Forest and Biodiversity Governance Including Environmental Monitoring. Compiled by: David Mallon, Navinder Singh, Christiane Röttger1, UNEP / CMS Secretariat, United Nations Premises, Platz der Vereinten Nationen 1 , 53113 Bonn, Germany E-mail for correspondence: [email protected] List of Contributors: Muhibullah Fazli (Afghanistan); Alexander Berber, Maksim Levitin (Kazakhstan); Askar Davletbakov, Nadezhda Emel’yanova, Almaz Musaev, (Kyrgyzstan); Tarun Kathula (India); Onon Yondon, Sukh Amgalanbaatar (Mongolia); Dinesh Prasad Parajuli (Nepal); Nurali Saidov, Munavvar Alidodov, Abdulkadyrkhon Maskaev (Tajikistan); Tatiana Yudina (Russian Federation); Alexandr Grigoryants (Uzbekistan); Sergey Sklyarenko (Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity of Kazakhstan, ACBK); Gerhard Damm, Kai-Uwe Wollscheid (International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation, CIC), Tom de Meulenaar (CITES Secretariat), Aline Kühl-Stenzel, Melanie Virtue (CMS Secretariat), Richard Reading (Denver Zoological Foundation); Alexander Dimet (Fauna & Flora International, FFI); Kathrin Uhlemann, Lira Joldubaeva, Dana Yermolyonok (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH, GIZ), Marco Festa-Bianchet, Stefan Michel, Andrey Subbotin (IUCN SSC Caprinae Specialist Group), Raul Valdez (New Mexico State University); Tatjana Rosen Michel (Panthera); Alexander Esipov (Saiga Conservation Alliance, SCA), Tahir Rasheed (Sustainable Use Specialist Group-Central Asia), Katalin Kecse-Nagy (TRAFFIC); Richard Harris (University of Montana), Aili Kang, Stephane Ostrowski, Zalmai Moheb (Wildlife Conservation Society); Michail Paltsyn, Olga Pereladova (WWF Russia) Milestones in the production of the Plan: Proposal for inclusion of Ovis ammon in Appendix II of CMS (by Kazakhstan and Tajikistan) Workshop “Sustainable Management of Central Asian Game Animals” (22-26 March 2012, International Nature Conservation Academy Vilm, Germany) Workshop for the development of an international Action Plan to improve trans-boundary conservation of Argali (2-4 December 2012, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan) Rosen, T. 2012. Analyzing Gaps and Options for Enhancing Argali Conservation in Central Asia within the Context of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals. Report prepared for The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), Bonn, Germany and the GIZ Regional Program on Sustainable Use of Natural Resources in Central Asia. Geographical scope: This International Single Species Action Plan requires implementation in the following countries regularly supporting Argali (Ovis ammon) populations: Afghanistan, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russian Federation, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Revision: This International Single Species Action Plan covers the period 2014 to 2024. A revision should be undertaken in 2019. However, an emergency review can be undertaken prior to 2019 if there are any major changes in terms of population status and/or threats demanding different management interventions to those outlined in this Action Plan. 3 Recommended citation: Mallon, D., Singh, N., and Röttger, C. (2014) International Single Species Action Plan for the Conservation of the Argali Ovis ammon. CMS Technical Series No. XX. Bonn, Germany. Picture on the cover: © Askar Davletbakov Disclaimer: The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this document do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNEP/CMS concerning the legal status of any State, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of their frontiers and boundaries. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................... 6 1 - BIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT ...................................................................................................... 7 1.1 Taxonomy 7 1.2 Distribution 8 1.3. Population 11 1.4. Habitat 14 2 - THREATS ......................................................................................................................................... 14 3 –CONSERVATION MEASURES ..................................................................................................... 18 3.1. International legal status 18 3.2. National policies and legislation 19 3.3. Protected areas 20 3.4. Transboundary initiatives 21 3.5. Trophy hunting 22 3.6. Conservation initiatives 23 4 - FRAMEWORK FOR ACTION ...................................................................................................... 24 4.1 Goal 24 4.2 Objectives 24 4.3 Results 256 4.4 Actions 25 5 - REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................. 34 ANNEX 1 ................................................................................................................................ 42 5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Argali (Ovis ammon) are listed on the current IUCN Red List as Near Threatened, because their numbers are declining due to poaching and competition with livestock. Argali are also listed in Appendix II of the Convention for the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) and in the Appendices of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Many subspecies and forms have been named, based on various characters, including horn size and shape, body size, coat colour, skull measurements, presence of a ruff, and others. The most widely used arrangement recognizes nine subspecies, but argali taxonomy remains unresolved and genetic research may show that some argali populations are characterized by clinal variation. Argali are distributed widely across eleven countries of Central Asia. Argali are the largest of the world’s wild sheep, with relatively long, slim legs and a compact, lithe body, and are adapted to open terrain and to escape danger through flight. They are usually found on rolling hills and plateaus, mountain slopes and desert hills. Argali are sexually dimorphic and adult males have massive, curled horns. They are polygynous and live in small to large single-sex herds, which come together during the mating season. Females generally give birth to one lamb, during late May to mid-June. Argali have a relatively short lifespan, seldom exceeding 10-12 years. Argali may undertake seasonal movements and some populations occur across international borders. The primary threats to argali are poaching and loss and degradation of habitat. Some populations are stable while others are decreasing. The horns of the males are highly valued as a trophy and argali are a species with considerable economic potential. This Single Species Action Plan was developed at a workshop organized by CMS that took place in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, in December 2012. The draft plan was subsequently further refined by the world’s leading argali experts during an extensive process of review. Goal of the Action Plan To maintain and restore argali populations to favourable conservation status throughout their range. Objectives Objective 1: To stabilize argali numbers and range and reverse negative trends. Objective 2: To maintain and restore intact argali habitat and migration routes. Objective 3: To fill knowledge and information gaps. Objective 4: To ensure effective implementation of the action plan 6 1 - Biological Assessment 1.1 Taxonomy Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Cetartiodactyla Family: Bovidae Genus: Ovis Species: Ovis ammon Linnaeus, 1758 Common names: argali (English), arkhar (Russian), argal’(ugalz – ram; homi - ewe) (Mongolian), 盘羊 pán yáng (Chinese), nyan (Tibetan, Ladakhi), arkar (Kazakh), ak-kiik, kuldja (Tajik) Argali taxonomy is complex and many subspecies and forms have been described. Among fundamental arrangements are those by Lydekker (1898) Nasonov (1923) and Tsalkin (1951). Nader et al. (1973) listed 16 subspecies, Pfeffer (1967) four, Valdez (1982) and Geist (1991) six, Schaller (1977) seven, and Fedosenko (2000) eight. Nine subspecies were recognized by the IUCN Caprinae Specialist Group (Shackleton and Lovari (1997): Ovis ammon ammon Altai argali Ovis ammon collium Kazakhstan argali Ovis ammon darwini Gobi argali Ovis ammon hodgsoni Tibetan argali Ovis ammon jubata North China argali, Shansi argali Ovis ammon karelini Tian Shan argali Ovis ammon nigrimontana Karatau argali Ovis ammon polii Marco Polo sheep, Pamir argali Ovis ammon severtzovi Severtzov’s argali The same classification was used by Fedosenko & Blank (2005) and Wilson & Reeder (2005), except that the latter authors preferred the name O. a. comosa to O. a. jubata. Although this is currently the most widely used arrangement, argali taxonomy remains unresolved and further