Shore Northeast of Katanga/Mt Kabobo (100533)
Congo, The Democratic Republic of the, Africa
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: B2
Year of last assessment: 2025
National site name: Shore Northeast of Katanga/Mt Kabobo
Central coordinates: Latitude: -4.6530, Longitude: 29.1492
System: freshwater
Elevation (m): 2 to 250
Area of KBA (km2): 137.1121
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: No
Site details
Site description: Shore Northeast of Katanga/Mt Kabobo KBA is found in the north-western Lake Tanganyika (Fizi Territory, South-Kivu Province) in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The KBA consists of a large coastal area with unique mountainous landscapes overlapping with the Ngandja Nature Reserve or M’mbondo Reserve. Several villages lie along the coastal zone of the site, the most important of which are Karamba and Kazimia to the north and Yungu and Talama to the south. The site alternates between rocky and sandy substrates.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site is important for many freshwater fish species including inshore fish species belonging to the Cichlidae family, and includes several spawning/nursery grounds where almost all fish of economic interests at the Lake (Lates and Clupeidae) retract to reproduce. The site is a KBA for six trigger species, Grammatotria lemairii, Boulengerochromis microlepis, Lates stappersii, Benthochromis tricoti, Stolothrissa tanganicae, and Cyphotilapia frontosa, under KBA criterion B2(iv).
Additional biodiversity: A high diversity of fish is found in the south (Yungu, Talama) and the north (Karamba, Kazimia) of the KBA where the population of Clupeidae is seasonally high. Lates angustifrons (Capitaine), Lates microlepis (Nonzi), Lates mariae (Sangala), Lates stappersii (Mukeke), Limnothrissa miodon (Lumbu), Stolothrissa tanganicae (Ndagala), Boulengerochromis microlepis, Bathybates species, Mastacembelus spp., Neolamprologus species, Xenotilapia species, Simochromis marginatus, Grammatotria lemairii, Benthochromis tricoti, Cyphotilapia frontosa, Shuja horei.
Manageability of the site: The KBA accommodates many biodiversity hotspots and spawning-grounds towards the north and south which need to be identified, delineated and protected in order to sustain the ecosystemic services and fish diversity in connection to the landscape of the Ngandja Reserve.
Other site values: Many communities along the KBA recognize the site as one of Lake Tanganyika’s biodiversity hotspots due to the high number of species and high levels of endemism (north and south) as well as its unique habitat with high mountains. These communities rely on the site natural resources including fisheries and poaching.
Delineation rationale: The KBA is limited to the north by the Karamba and Kazimia villages or bays and to the south by Yungu and Talama villages as main sites. Note that Kazimiya is situated on the northernmost end of the Ngandja Natural Reserve. 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: The site is covered with high mountains along the shores with some bays such as Kazimia. There are some emerging villages (Karamba, Kazimia, Yungu) with rapid growth in population and high demand of the natural resources. The agriculture activities along the coastal slope are common while the forest remain visible along the site and exploited for logging and wood harvesting or firewood. The coastline has macrophytes in many areas.
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Wetlands(Inland) | 100 |
Threats
| Threat level 1 | Threat level 2 | Threat level 3 | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biological resource use | Logging & wood harvesting | Unintentional effects: subsistence/small scale (species being assessed is not the target) [harvest] | Ongoing |
| Biological resource use | Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources | Intentional use: subsistence/small scale (species being assessed is the target) [harvest] | Ongoing |
| Pollution | Garbage & solid waste | Ongoing | |
| Pollution | Industrial & military effluents | Type Unknown/Unrecorded | Ongoing |
| Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseases | Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases | Unspecified species | Ongoing |
| Pollution | Agricultural & forestry effluents | Soil erosion, sedimentation | Ongoing |
| Biological resource use | Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources | Intentional use: subsistence/small scale (species being assessed is the target) [harvest] | Ongoing |
| Biological resource use | Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources | Intentional use: subsistence/small scale (species being assessed is the target) [harvest] | Ongoing |
| Pollution | Agricultural & forestry effluents | Soil erosion, sedimentation | Ongoing |
| Climate change & severe weather | Habitat shifting & alteration | Ongoing | |
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Annual & perennial non-timber crops | Small-holder farming | Ongoing |
| Biological resource use | Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources | Intentional use: large scale (species being assessed is the target) [harvest] | Ongoing |
| Pollution | Agricultural & forestry effluents | Soil erosion, sedimentation | Ongoing |
| Biological resource use | Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources | Intentional use: large scale (species being assessed is the target) [harvest] | Ongoing |
| Transportation & service corridors | Roads & railroads | Ongoing | |
| Pollution | Garbage & solid waste | Ongoing | |
| Biological resource use | Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources | Intentional use: large scale (species being assessed is the target) [harvest] | Ongoing |
| Geological events | Avalanches/landslides | Ongoing | |
| Biological resource use | Logging & wood harvesting | Unintentional effects: subsistence/small scale (species being assessed is not the target) [harvest] | Ongoing |
| Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseases | Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases | Unspecified species | Ongoing |
| Biological resource use | Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources | Intentional use: subsistence/small scale (species being assessed is the target) [harvest] | Ongoing |
| Biological resource use | Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources | Intentional use: subsistence/small scale (species being assessed is the target) [harvest] | Ongoing |
| Pollution | Domestic & urban waste water | Type Unknown/Unrecorded | Ongoing |
| Pollution | Agricultural & forestry effluents | Soil erosion, sedimentation | Ongoing |
| Pollution | Agricultural & forestry effluents | Soil erosion, sedimentation | Ongoing |