Touws River (100957)
South Africa, Africa
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: A1a, A1b, A1d, B1, B2, B3a, B4, E
Year of last assessment: 2024
National site name: Touws River
Central coordinates: Latitude: -33.2601, Longitude: 19.9928
System: terrestrial, freshwater
Elevation (m): 749 to 1437
Area of KBA (km2): 1118.35765
Protected area coverage (%): 2.79
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: No
Site details
Site description: Touws River is a large terrestrial site that has limited protection, found in the Western Cape, South Africa. Mainly low mountains, parallel hills and mid-altitude plateaus supporting a low, open to medium dense, leptophyllous shrubland with a medium dense matrix of short, divaricate shrubs, dominated by renosterbos. On low flat mountains and parallel ridges in a west-east orientation. Apart from the Witteberg and Elandsberg, this vegetation type consists of narrow, linear bands surrounded by Matjiesfontein Shale Fynbos and Succulent Karoo vegetation. It is a medium dense, medium tall shrubland, structurally classified mainly as asteraceous and proteoid fynbos, although restioid fynbos is also present. The lower northern slopes in the east, where there is a rainshadow effect due to the Swartberg Mountains, support Succulent Karoo vegetation.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that meets the thresholds for 3 criteria described in the Global Standard for the Identification of KBAs. Based on current available information, 22 species meet one or more KBA criteria for this site. The KBA trigger species at this site include birds and plants. The site meets criterion A1 due to the presence of significant proportions of the global populations of 12 threatened species. The site regularly holds 15 individual geographically restricted species, therefore meeting criterion B1. Assemblages of co-occurring range-restricted species in the Caryophyllales and Proteales taxonomic groups regularly present within the site meet criterion B2. A quantitative analysis of irreplaceability indicates that the site is 100% irreplaceable for the global persistence of 7 species, therefore meeting criterion E. The site holds significant proportions of the global extent of 2 geographically restricted ecosystems (meeting criterion B4).
Additional biodiversity: 167 other potential trigger species meet minimum population parameter thresholds for the site, but presence and/or minimum reproductive units required to meet KBA criteria cannot be confirmed with available data.
Manageability of the site: This site is managed primarily by a regional conservation authority responsible for enforcing statutory regulations on landuse change in Critical Biodiversity Areas and threatened ecosystems.
Delineation rationale: Distinctive mountain region with alternating bands of quarzitic fynbos and mountain renosterveld, partly categorised as Critical Biodiversity Area.
Habitats
Summary of habitats in KBA: Shrubland (89%), Artificial - terrestrial (10%)
Threats
| Threat level 1 | Threat level 2 | Threat level 3 | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Residential & commercial development | Commercial & industrial areas | Ongoing | |
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Annual & perennial non-timber crops | Scale Unknown/Unrecorded | Ongoing |
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Wood & pulp plantations | Scale Unknown/Unrecorded | Ongoing |
Additional information
Contributors: Gavin Masterson (Fathom Data), Warrick Stewart (Resilience Environmental Advice), Anisha Dayaram (South African National Biodiversity Institute), Maphale Monyeki (South African National Biodiversity Institute), Sediqa Khatieb (South African National Biodiversity Institute), Craig Hilton-Taylor (IUCN)