La Planada Natural Reserve (14431)
Colombia, South America

Site overview

KBA status: confirmed

Global KBA criteria: A1b, A1d, A1e, B2

Year of last assessment: 2023

National site name: Reserva Natural La Planada

Central coordinates: Latitude: 1.1525, Longitude: -77.9928

System: terrestrial, freshwater

Elevation (m): 1300 to 2100

Area of KBA (km²): 41.74686

Protected area coverage (%): 99.99

KBA classification: Global

Legacy site: Yes

Site details

Site description: La Planada Nature Reserve is located in the municipality of Ricaurte, department of Nariño, on the Pacific slope of the Andes mountain range in the southwest of the country. La Planada extends over 3,200 ha of premontane humid forests (Holdrige 1967) distributed in two plains, five hills with their foothills and two pronounced canyons, and is located between 1,300 and 2,100 m above sea level (FES 1997 ). Currently, it presents forests with different degrees of recovery due to the fact that the exploitation of fine woods and livestock farming were practiced there before its foundation. It is part of the so-called Chocó Biogeográfico, a region of high rainfall. It presents an average annual rainfall of 4,700 mm, distributed bimodally, with a dry period between June and August (Orejuela 1997).

Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that meets the KBA thresholds of the Glaucidium nubicola, a species considered Vulnerable to extinction, meeting A1 criterion. Also, four amphibians species triggered some KBA criteria. Pristimantis hectus triggered A1b and B2, Pristimantis apiculatus and Pristimantis sulculus triggered only B2 criterion. Paruwrobates andinus triggered A1e criterion.

Additional biodiversity: In this KBA, 426 species of birds have been recorded: https://ebird.org/region/BIRDLIFE_14431?yr=all, 890 species of plants (Mendoza and Ramírez 2000), approximately 50 species of reptiles and more than 30 species of amphibians. .

Manageability of the site: The management of this KBA is private. Since 1982 this KBA has been property of the Foundation for Education and Social Development - FES. Through resolution 242 of 1984, the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development of Colombia (at that time INDERENA) declared the La Planada Protective Forest Reserve as a protected area of Colombia (IUCN Management Category VI) under the management of the FES Foundation, who are charge of agreeing and implementing management and conservation actions in this KBA.

Delineation rationale: The limits are given by the protected area Reserva Forestal Protectora Nacional La Planada

Habitats

IUCN Habitat	Coverage %	Habitat detail
Wetlands(Inland)	0.003	Wetlands (inland) – Seasonal/intermittent/irregular rivers/streams/creeks
Artificial - Terrestrial	5
Forest	63	Forest – Subtropical/tropical moist montane
Artificial - Aquatic	36.9	Rural Gardens

Threats

Threat level 1	Threat level 2	Threat level 3	Timing
Transportation & service corridors	Roads & railroads		Ongoing
Biological resource use	Logging & wood harvesting	Unintentional effects: subsistence/small scale (species being assessed is not the target) [harvest]	Ongoing
Human intrusions & disturbance	Work & other activities		Ongoing
Agriculture & aquaculture	Livestock farming & ranching	Small-holder grazing, ranching or farming	Only in the future
Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases	Named species	Unknown
Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases	Named species	Ongoing
Agriculture & aquaculture	Livestock farming & ranching	Small-holder grazing, ranching or farming	Ongoing
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops	Small-holder farming	Ongoing

Additional information