Uzbekistan Releases 672 Captive-Bred Asian Houbara Bustards in Karakalpakstan

In June 2026, environmental authorities release 672 captive-bred Asian Houbara bustards into the wild landscapes of Karakalpakstan in western Uzbekistan. The release forms part of a multi-nation, transboundary initiative for restoring degraded dryland ecosystems around the former Aral Sea region.

Asian Houbara Bustard Reintroduction in Karakalpakstan (Uzbekistan):

Dimension	Key Details
Location	Karakalpakstan is an Autonomous Republic of Uzbekistan, located in the Aral Sea and Aralkum Desert region.
Species	Asian Houbara Bustard is Chlamydotis macqueenii.
Reintroduction programme	The release comprises a multi-nation, transboundary initiative for restoring severely degraded dryland ecosystems around the former Aral Sea, now largely the Aralkum Desert.
Breeding facility	The birds are bred in a specialised facility run by the UAE (Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan office) in Kazakhstan.
Pre-release preparation and supervision	The birds are prepared through pre-release conditioning under the supervision of Uzbekistan's National Committee on Ecology and Climate Change and international CITES experts.
IUCN status	Asian Houbara Bustard is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN status mentioned in the article.
International protection listings	The species is listed under CITES and Appendix I of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS).
Habitat range	The species occurs in arid plains and semi-deserts across Central Asia, the Middle East, and parts of South Asia.
Primary threats	Primary threats comprise historical habitat destruction linked to Aral desiccation, illegal poaching, and loss of migratory stopovers.
Aral Sea fact stated	The Aral Sea is described as once the world’s 4th-largest inland lake.
Aral Sea degradation driver stated	The Aral Sea’s decimation is attributed to Soviet-era river diversion projects starting in the 1960s.