Agua de la Virgen (14492)
Colombia, South America
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: A1a
Year of last assessment: 2023
National site name: Agua de la Virgen
Central coordinates: Latitude: 8.1952, Longitude: -73.3712
System: terrestrial, freshwater
Elevation (m): 1600 to 1750
Area of KBA (km2): 1.00329
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: The area is located in the municipality of Ocaña, Norte de Santander department, north of the Eastern Cordillera of the Colombian Andes. The area consists of a small patch of primary forest preserved since 1711. Hunting and logging have been prohibited for more than two centuries in around 50 ha of forest. The forest is characterized by the presence of lianas, bamboo and some species of grasses. The canopy is pierced by trees over 20 m tall. This small premontane primary cloud forest is one of the last remnants of primary forest habitat in a region where the deforestation rate is 97% (Donegan et al. 2003a, Donegan et al. 2003b). The successful conservation of the place lies in the ban on logging imposed by the religious authorities that own the place.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that meets the KBA thresholds of the endangered Clytoctantes alixii, meeting A1 criterion.
Additional biodiversity: This KBA is key for the conservation of threatened birds such as: Recurve-billed Bushbird (Clytoctantes alixii), Black-fronted Wood-quail (Odontophorus atrifrons) and Gorgeted Wood-quail (Odontophorus strophium) and is an important site for Moustached Brush-finch (Atlapetes albofrenatus), a species endemic to Colombia.
Manageability of the site: Because it is a pilgrimage site with infrastructure and a settled Catholic community, management is private. The successful conservation of the site is based on the prohibition of logging imposed by the religious authorities that own the site.
Delineation rationale: This KBA follows the private boundaries of this pilgrimage site.
Habitats
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Artificial - Terrestrial | 31.8 | |
| Forest | 79 | Forest – Subtropical/tropical moist montane |
Additional information
Contributors: Yanira Cifuentes-Sarmiento. IBA Colombia program coordinator. Asociación Calidris: ycifuentes@calidris.org.co