Guatiquía River Canyon (14501)
Colombia, South America

Site overview

KBA status: confirmed

Global KBA criteria: A1a, A1b, A1e, B1, B2

Year of last assessment: 2023

National site name: Cañón del río Guatiquía

Central coordinates: Latitude: 4.3379, Longitude: -73.6667

System: terrestrial, freshwater

Elevation (m): 400 to 3000

Area of KBA (km²): 376.61881

Protected area coverage (%): 14.99

KBA classification: Global

Legacy site: Yes

Site details

Site description: The Guatiquía River Canyon is located on the eastern slope of the Eastern Andes in the foothills of the Llanos. It is part of the Meta department and falls under the jurisdiction of the municipalities of Villavicencio, El Calvario, and San Juanito. It is a strip of land 45 km long, running north to south, and 10 km wide. It ascends from the Bavaria Bridge in Villavicencio at 400 meters above sea level to the Chingaza paramo at 3,000 meters, passing through localities such as Montfort, San Francisco, El Calvario, Santa Teresa, Candelaria, and San Juanito. The canyon features deep abysses and steep slopes along a wide altitudinal gradient, which favors the presence of fauna and flora belonging to different thermal floors. The region is moderately colonized, which has led to a significant increase in artificial landscapes (45%). However, it still exhibits good coverage of natural mountain and tropical forests (40%), as well as natural rivers, streams, shrublands, and grasslands (approximately 15%). The local community dedicates about 50% of the land to agriculture and livestock, while about 45% remains unused. The Mayor's Office of Villavicencio, with support from the German Cooperation Agency (GTZ), carried out the Guatiquía River project, which formulated a management plan for the middle and upper stretch of the river.

Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This area it's important for the conservation of some species that triggered any KBA criteria. These species are: two birds, Pyrrhura calliptera (Brown-breasted Parakeet) that triggered A1b criteria and Grallaria kaestneri (Cundinamarca antpitta) that triggered A1a and B1 criteria. There is also four amphibian species, Allobates ranoides that triggered A1e criteria, Allobates juanii that triggered A1a and B2 criteria, Allobates cepedai that triggered A1b and B2 criteria and also Pristimantis medemi that triggered only B2.

Manageability of the site: This area is under CORPORINOQUIA jurisdiction and also of the land owners that live in the territory. Much of the area remains without legal protection. However, the highlands are part of the buffer zone of the Chingaza National Natural Park. In addition to this area, 4 km from the city of Villavicencio are the Bavaria and Vanguardia Forest Reserves, which represent 300 ha of tropical forests. Urban areas are also managed by CORPORINOQUIA which watch over the fauna and flora management in towns and cities under its jurisdiction.

Delineation rationale: To the original KBA polygon around the Guatiquia River canyon, a zone was added to the north that reaches the boundaries of Chingaza National Natural Park. The zone was also delineated to cover the boundaries of Quebrada Honda NNR to the west, and Vanguardia Hill and Caño Vanguardia RFPs to the south. Many urban areas are included inside this KBA due to one of the triggers, Pyrrhura calliptera, can be observed even nesting at some urban parks in these little towns.

Habitats

IUCN Habitat	Coverage %	Habitat detail
Wetlands(Inland)	0.6	Wetlands (inland) – Seasonal/intermittent/irregular rivers/streams/creeks
Shrubland	0.64	Shrubland – Subtropical/tropical high altitude
Artificial - Aquatic	13.08	Plantations
Forest	84.32	Forest – Subtropical/tropical moist montane

Threats

Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: The main threats are the expansion of the agricultural frontier and the indiscriminate hunting of birds and mammals.

Threat level 1	Threat level 2	Threat level 3	Timing
Transportation & service corridors	Roads & railroads		Ongoing
Human intrusions & disturbance	Work & other activities		Ongoing
Geological events	Avalanches/landslides		Unknown
Agriculture & aquaculture	Livestock farming & ranching	Agro-industry grazing, ranching or farming	Ongoing

Additional information