Brief synthesisThe Tugay Forests of the Tigrovaya Balka Nature Reserve is located in the interfluve of the Vakhsh and Panj rivers in southwestern Tajikistan at the border of Afghanistan. The area of the Tigrovaya Balka Nature Reserve is 49,786 hectares and its buffer zone is 17,672 hectares. There are several habitats in the reserve: tugay riverine forests, freshwater bodies and marshes, semi-deserts, takirs and solonchaks. Protection and management requirementsThe property has had the status of a state nature reserve since 1938, the highest nature protection status of Tajikistan, corresponding to IUCN category Ia. The nature protection institution for the Tigrovaya Balka Nature Reserve has the necessary material and human resources to ensure undisturbed natural processes within the property.