Mutambala-Nembe River Bay (100532)
Congo, The Democratic Republic of the, Africa
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: A1a, A1e, B1, B2
Year of last assessment: 2025
National site name: Mutambala-Nembe River Bay
Central coordinates: Latitude: -4.2411, Longitude: 29.1382
System: freshwater
Elevation (m): 1 to 150
Area of KBA (km2): 297.60749
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: No
Site details
Site description: Mutambala-Nemba is found in north-western Lake Tanganyika (south of Baraka City, Fizi Territory, Sud-Kivu Province) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is located in the south of Baraka City where it forms a larger bay continuous to the swampy areas arising from both rivers (Mutambala and Nemba on the western side).
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: The site is a long stretch of spawning grounds par excellence including submerged and floating vegetation favourable to the reproduction, shelters and nurseries of several fish, crabs, gastropods (mollusks), water snakes, hippos, crocodiles, birds, and aquatic insects. It is of particular importance for Xenotilapia burtoni, a freshwater fish species, which primarily occurs within the site. The site is a KBA for trigger species, Xenotilapia burtoni under KBA criteria A1e.
Additional biodiversity: Potential KBA trigger species: Lates angustifrons, Lates mariae, Lates microlepis, Lepidiolamprologus attenuatus, Limnotilapia dardennii, Pseudosimochromis marginatus, Tropheus duboisi, and Xenotilapia sima. Additional species found at the side include: Grammatotria lemairii, Callochromis melanostigma, Benthochromis tricoti, Boulengerochromis microlepis, Cyathopharynx furcifer, Cyphotilapia frontosa, Cyprichromis microlepidotus, Gnathochromis pfefferi, Shuja horei, Cardiopharynx shoutedeni, Greenwoodochromis christyi, Haplochromis burtoni, Hemibates stenosoma, Lobochilotes labiatus, Gramatotria lemairii, Neolamprologus brevis, Lepidiolamprologus cunningtoni, Lepidiolamprologus elongatus, Lepidiolamprologus lemairii, Limnochromis auritus, Neolamprologus brevis, Neolamprologus brichardi, Neolamprologus mondabu, Xenotilapia nasus, Tylochromis polylepis,Trematocara variabile, Trematocara unimaculatum, Trematocara marginatum, Oreochromis tanganicae, Simochromis diagramma ,Petrochromis polyodon, and Petrochromis macrognathus
Manageability of the site: The communities around the KBA know well the ecosystemic value of the site as spawning grounds for many fish of economic interest on which they rely. They are aware on the importance of protecting the site in terms of fisheries managing and, they need to be strengthened and supported.
Other site values: The site is particularity accommodating many animal and vegetal taxa, especially fish species. High diversity of cichlid species, and breeding / nursery sites for species targeted by fisheries including Lates and clupeid species as well as many cichlids and catfish of economic interests. More than 70% of communities established around the site depend on fishing and farming in the site.
Delineation rationale: The KBA is located in the Burton Bay composing a larger bay in south of Baraka City (west) to Mizimu Point (East) with many villages including mainly Mwandiga, Sebele, Some, Kiriza, Karunga, Rubana, Katenga, Kitete, Nshombozi, Kenya, Kampala, Museke and Manga. The site boundaries were delineated by The Nature Conservancy (TNC), in collaboration with IUCN, using existing spatial data and IUCN Red List data on freshwater species within the lake. Information on these draft KBAs (boundaries and accompanying datasheets with trigger species lists) was made available to stakeholders for comment through an online microsite and at the African Great Lakes Conference side event Delineation of Key Biodiversity Areas for Lake Tanganyika, held in Entebbe, Uganda in May 2017 and sponsored by The Nature Conservancy, Lake Tanganyika Authority and IUCN. The following year, a KBA delineation and validation workshop was held in May 2018 at SAGCOT Centre, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Through this workshop, information was gathered on confirmation of the presence of the KBA trigger species within the draft KBA boundaries, refinement of the boundaries based on existing management units (e.g. existing KBAs, protected areas) or focal areas for the species, and expert confirmation that the KBA trigger species occur at a level sufficient to meet the KBA thresholds.
Habitats
Land use: Urban settlement along the north-western part of the bay (emerging Baraka City). Agricultural activities along the river watersheds and on the hills and swampy zones around the bay. High number of villages and human population density surrounding the KBA. Mining activities in the catchment area of the Mutambala and Nemba Rivers (upstream).
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Wetlands(Inland) | 100 |
Threats
| Threat level 1 | Threat level 2 | Threat level 3 | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy production & mining | Mining & quarrying | Ongoing | |
| Pollution | Agricultural & forestry effluents | Type Unknown/Unrecorded | Ongoing |
| Pollution | Industrial & military effluents | Type Unknown/Unrecorded | Ongoing |
| Biological resource use | Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources | Unintentional effects: subsistence/small scale (species being assessed is not the target) [harvest] | Ongoing |
| Pollution | Agricultural & forestry effluents | Soil erosion, sedimentation | Ongoing |