Santa Cecilia (100298)
Colombia, South America

Site overview

KBA status: confirmed

Global KBA criteria: A1b, A1e

Year of last assessment: 2025

National site name: Santa Cecilia

Central coordinates: Latitude: 5.3498, Longitude: -76.0868

System: terrestrial, freshwater

Elevation (m): 280 to 1200

Area of KBA (km²): 346.88912

Protected area coverage (%): 0.06

KBA classification: Global

Legacy site: No

Site details

Site description: The area is located in the eastern slope from the western cordillera of Colombia. In jurisdiction of the department of Risaralda, municipality of Pueblo Rico. It covers 394,5 sq km of tropical moist forest, with a range of altitude from 280 to 1200 m. The clima of this site is characterized by a precipitation higher than 4000 mm3/year and average temperature of 28 ºC. The KBA area is inside a megadiverse region known as Chocó biogeographic, due to a combination of evolutionary, ecological, climatic and geologic factors, this region presents the highest biodiversity concentration per area in the world, with a high level of endemism. This geographical region is among the 25 regions of the world classified as a priority for nature conservation, which is why it has been called a Biodiversity Hotspot. Habitats consist of lowland tropical rainforest and secondary forest. This site is threatened by livestock, mining activities, and logging, resulting in degraded and fragmented forest, as well as pollution.

Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance because it meets two of the previously established criteria (A1b, A1e y B1) and thresholds described in the Global Standard for the Identification of KBAs. This site has three trigger species, Bangsia aureocincta (A1b), Oophaga histrionica (A1a, A1e and B1), and Matisia carderi (A1e). Taxonomy, nomenclature and Red List category follow the IUCN 2022 Red List. This site contains the entire known population of Oophaga histrionica and Matisia carderi.

Additional biodiversity: Birds: Diglossa gloriosissima, Bangsia melanochlamys, Glaucidium nubicola, Habia cristata. Insects: Heteragrion peregrinum, Miocora aurea.

Manageability of the site: Consultation with the expert indicates that the site is manageable as a single unit. In this area exist two different community councils (Comunidad Negra Piedras Bachichi and Santa Cecilia) and one indigenous community (Unificado Chamí del Río San Juan). The environmental authority is Corporación Autónoma Regional de Risaralda "CARDER". The decision making is through assemblies between all the regional actors.

Other site values: Comunidad Negra Piedras Bachichi, Unificado Chamí del Río San Juan.

Delineation rationale: This site was delimitated based on the locations where the species was observed in Risaralda department, considerating the altitude range reported (between 280 and 1200 meters above the sea level) and the presence of micro-watersheds of the Mistrató and Aguita rivers, which is the main habitat for the species. Delineated using spatial layers representing biodiversity value, land cover, and adjacent KBAs by Re:wild and Wildlife Conservation Society.

Habitats

Land use: The main use of this land is for agricultural crops, cattle raising and tourism

Threats

Threat level 1	Threat level 2	Threat level 3	Timing
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops	Small-holder farming	Ongoing
Energy production & mining	Mining & quarrying		Ongoing
Biological resource use	Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	Intentional use (species being assessed is the target)	Ongoing
Biological resource use	Logging & wood harvesting	Unintentional effects: subsistence/small scale (species being assessed is not the target) [harvest]	Ongoing

Additional information