Cañón del Río Barbas y Bremen (14422)
Colombia, South America

Site overview

KBA status: confirmed

Global KBA criteria: A1a, A1b, A1c, B1, B2

Year of last assessment: 2025

National site name: Cañón del Río Barbas y Bremen

Central coordinates: Latitude: 4.6995, Longitude: -75.6272

System: terrestrial, freshwater

Elevation (m): 1600 to 2100

Area of KBA (km²): 92.86245

Protected area coverage (%): 99.67

KBA classification: Global

Legacy site: Yes

Site details

Site description: The Cañón del Río Barbas y Bremen is located between 1,500 and 2,100 m on the western slope of the Central Cordillera of the Andes in Colombia. This area includes the Bremen Forest Reserve (04°40'27''N 75°37'56''W), as well as the Barbas river canyon (04°42'38''N 75°38'52''W) and the Cestillal ravine canyon (04°43'17''N 75°39'19''W), in the departments of Quindío and Risaralda. Bremen is located in the municipalities of Filandia and Circasia (Quindío), the Barbas river forms the boundary between the municipalities of Filandia (Quindío) and Pereira (Risaralda), and Cestillal is located in the municipality of Pereira (Risaralda). The area of interest includes these three main forest blocks: Bremen, Barbas and Cestillal, as well as the surrounding landscape. The northern and eastern limits of the area are demarcated by the highway that connects the cities of Armenia and Pereira; to the west and south the area borders cattle landscapes. The Barbas river canyon contains 790 ha of forest, these were historically protected due to their high slope. One kilometer south of the Barbas canyon is the Bremen Forest Reserve, established in the early 1970s for the protection of watersheds. Today, Bremen has 336 ha of native forest and 411 ha of exotic timber plantations. Since these plantations are being used and left in natural regeneration, in the future this Reserve will have 747 ha of natural forest. Castillal, for its part, has 296 ha of native forest. The combined area of Barbas, Bremen and Cestillal (1,833 ha) make up, in the altitudinal range it occupies, the largest forest area in the entire subecoregion of the western slope of the Central Cordillera. Bremen is currently a protected area within the Regional System of Protected Areas of the Coffee Axis, while Barbas is a priority for the establishment of a new protected area, which should include the Cestillal forests. The predominant production systems in the areas surrounding these forest blocks are cattle ranching and forest plantations of exotic tree species, predominantly Eucalyptus spp. and Pinus patula. The Barbas, Bremen and Cestillal basins provide a reliable source of water to more than 70,000 inhabitants of eight municipalities and an unquantified number of industries, coffee plantations and two of the most important tourist theme parks in western Colombia. The municipalities that benefit from watershed protection are Finlandia, Quimbaya, Circasia and Montenegro, in the department of Quindío, Pereira in the department of Risaralda, and Cartago, Alcalá and Ulloa in the department of Valle del Cauca. In 1996, an environmental management plan was executed for persistent commercial logging in the Bremen-La Popa Forest Reserve. Additionally, the Alexander von Humboldt Institute, in collaboration with the environmental authorities of the region, has coordinated different conservation projects in the area: 1) biodiversity and production systems in the Coffee Axis of the department of Quindío 1998-2000; 2) conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in the Colombian Andes 2002-2003. Currently there is a collaborative project between the CRQ, the Alexander von Humboldt Institute, the municipality of Filandia and the private owners of the area for the reestablishment of corridors forests that again connect the forests of Barbas, Bremen and Cestillal. This project aims at the first field implementation of habitat corridors through forest restoration in Colombia. If this project is successful, it will lay the foundations for a second phase of the project aimed at reestablishing the connection between this KBA and the forests of eastern Risaralda.

Rationale for qualifying as KBA: For this site, seven species meet some KBA criteria. Three plant species: Magnolia gilbertoi, Symplocos quindiuensis, Magnolia hernandezii, which meet criteria A1a, A1b, A1c, and B1; one amphibian species: Andinobates bombetes, which meets criteria A1b; and three bird species: Yellow-eared Parrot (Ognorhynchus icterotis), Cauca Guan (Penelope perspicax), which meet criteria B2 and Moustached Antpitta (Grallaria alleni) which meet criteria A1b and B2.

Additional biodiversity: There is also presence of some threatened and range-restricted birds species as the Yellow-headed Manakin (Chloropipo flavicapilla - VU), the Multicolored Tanager (Chlorochrysa nitidissima - NT) and Colombian Screech-owl (Megascops colombianus - NT). This KBA was established as an IBA in 2002 and currently records 517 bird species: https://ebird.org/region/BIRDLIFE_14422

Manageability of the site: The Cañón del Río Barbas y Bremen is managed by the Corporación Autónoma Regional del Quindío and Corporación Autónoma Regional de Risaralda. Urban areas inside this KBA are managed by these two entities due to they are also in charge of Corporations which watch over the correct administration of natural resources inside urban areas.

Delineation rationale: The boundaries were adjusted to fully cover the Barbas-Bremen Soil Conservation District, avoiding overlap with proposed polygon 14461 Alto Quindio, 14464 Eastern Risaralda Forests; and the gap in the Finca la Betulia IBA polygon.

Habitats

Summary of habitats in KBA: Heterogeneous agricultural areas represent 12%, forests cover 64%, permanent crops 1%, pastures 20%, industrial or commercial areas 2%, and urbanized areas 1%.

Land use: Land use is currently distributed as follows: 3,236 hectares for preservation, 2,146 hectares for restoration, 3,705 hectares for sustainable use, which includes spaces to carry out productive and extractive activities compatible with the conservation objective of the protected area. The rest of the hectares are destined for spaces for public use. These are spaces defined in the management plan through which particular management objectives are sought through education, recreation, ecotourism and the development of infrastructure to support research.

IUCN Habitat	Coverage %	Habitat detail
Forest	64	Forest – Subtropical/tropical moist montane
Artificial - Terrestrial	75
Artificial - Aquatic	1	Water Storage Areas [over 8 ha]
Artificial - Aquatic	1	Urban Areas
Artificial - Aquatic	20	Rural Gardens

Threats

Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: The threats that most affect the area encompassing the Barbas and Bremen River Canyon are extensive cattle farming, the presence of poultry and pig farms, commercial forest production, and the expansion of the agricultural frontier for coffee plantations due to improper use and management of agrochemicals and hazardous waste.

Additional information