Cerro Azul (100337)
Ecuador, South America
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: A1a, A1b, A1d, B1, B2
Year of last assessment: 2023
National site name: Cerro Azul
Central coordinates: Latitude: -3.4981, Longitude: -79.8281
System: terrestrial, freshwater
Elevation (m): 50 to 1500
Area of KBA (km2): 319.03382
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: No
Site details
Site description: This KBA includes the rarest and remnants of chocó-andean forests from southwest Ecuador that meets or intersect with the tumbesian region. Is a mosaic of seasonal evergreen foothill forests and evergreen seasonal Semi-deciduous and non-semideciduous lowland forests mixed with agricultural landscapes and the continuous threat of gold mining activities. Located in El Oro province between 50 - 1500 m.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that meets the thresholds for at least two criteria described in the Global Standard for the Identification of KBAs. Species of amphibians, reptiles and birds meeting the A1 and B criteria and thresholds. Reptile: Touzet’s woodlizard. Amphibian: Pristimantis hampatusami. And, ecuadorian endemic and threatened of extinction birds: Scytalopus robbinsi and Pyrrhura orcesi among other range restricted species.
Additional biodiversity: Pseudastur occidentalis, Puma concolor, Alouatta palliata,
Manageability of the site: This area is not officially protected. The opportunity of a conservation corridor proposed for the province and leaded by the prefecture of El Oro and conservation NGOs plus the Instituto Nacional de la Biodiversidad could save and protect this important region.
Supersedes another site: A fraction of Daucay (14605).
Other site values: Private lands
Delineation rationale: The limits of this new KBA are: On south, the end of the choco-andean on Sambotambo cordillera, open cattle pastures and agricultural landscape of the cloudforests remnants of El Oro province. Limited by roads on the southwestern side. Following the western and northern limits, this KBA is surrounded by towns and villages plus agricultural areas of the lowlands of El Oro province towards the coast.
Habitats
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Forest | 50 | Forest – Subtropical/tropical moist montane |
Threats
| Threat level 1 | Threat level 2 | Threat level 3 | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Annual & perennial non-timber crops | Small-holder farming | Ongoing |
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Wood & pulp plantations | Small-holder plantations | Ongoing |
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Livestock farming & ranching | Small-holder grazing, ranching or farming | |
| Energy production & mining | Mining & quarrying | Ongoing | |
| Transportation & service corridors | Roads & railroads | Ongoing | |
| Biological resource use | Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals | Persecution/control | Ongoing |
| Biological resource use | Logging & wood harvesting | Unintentional effects: subsistence/small scale (species being assessed is not the target) [harvest] | Ongoing |
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Wood & pulp plantations | Scale Unknown/Unrecorded | Ongoing |
| Natural system modifications | Other ecosystem modifications | Ongoing | |
| Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseases | Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases | Named species | Ongoing |
| Pollution | Industrial & military effluents | Seepage from mining | Ongoing |
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Annual & perennial non-timber crops | Shifting agriculture | Ongoing |
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Livestock farming & ranching | Scale Unknown/Unrecorded | Ongoing |
Additional information
Contributors: QCAZ-Herpetofauna from Universidad Católica del Ecuador.
Universidad San Francisco de Quito.
Experts that participate in the KBA workshop on birds.
Niels Krabbe.