La Judia Hill (14503)
Colombia, South America

Site overview

KBA status: confirmed

Global KBA criteria: A1a

Year of last assessment: 2023

National site name: Cerro La Judía

Central coordinates: Latitude: 7.0817, Longitude: -73.0522

System: terrestrial

Elevation (m): 1000 to 2800

Area of KBA (km²): 85.53244

Protected area coverage (%): 43.36

KBA classification: Global

Legacy site: Yes

Site details

Site description: La Judia Hill is located on the western slope of the Eastern Cordillera of the Andes, in the department of Santander. It belongs to the jurisdiction of the municipality of Floridablanca, in the villages of La Judía, San Ignacio, Aguablanca, Helechales, Buenavista and Casiano. It is part of the complex of Andean forest remnants of the Frío and Lato river basins located northeast of Santander. Apart from the latter, the main land use activities in the area are water management and nature conservation and research. This KBA contains one of the most important urban forests for the municipality of Floridablanca, it has a high water supply that includes the division of three hydrographic basins, the micro-basins: Río Frío, Río Lato and Río de Oro Alto. In this KBA, forested lands that are geologically unstable due to the intervention of man predominate, generating a threat to the rural populations in the area. The climate on Cerro La Judia is temperate-cold, allowing the nearby parts of Floridablanca and Piedecuesta to have a pleasant temperature.

Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This KBA is key to the conservation of two birds species. The Mountain Grackle (Macroagelaius subalaris), a species considered Endangered, meeting A1a criterion and also for Niceforo's Wren (Thryophilus nicefori), a species considered as Critically Endangered by IUCN that triggered A1a criterion as well.

Additional biodiversity: More than 250 species of birds belonging to 37 families have been recorded in the area (Peraza 2002, Briceño 2003, Briceño and Avendaño 2004, Avendaño 2004). There is a record of 25 species of boreal migratory birds, 1 southern migratory and 8 species with range expansion for the Colombian Eastern Cordillera. In addition, 34 species of terrestrial mammals have been registered on Cerro La Judía, of which seven species are categorized as threatened with extinction: the Andean Bear (Tremarctos ornatus, VU), Leopardus pardalis and Leopardus tigrinus (NT). Other representative species of the site are the Puma (Puma concolor, NT), Colombian Night Monkey (Aotus lemurinus lemurinus-VU), Colombian Red Howler Monkey (Alouatta seniculus) and Red Brocket (Mazama americana). Regarding bats, at least 19 species have been recorded (Numa 2002, Rodríguez 2003, 2004). There is an endemic species of rain frog (Pristimantis jorgevelosai-EN), known only from the climatic forests surrounding the typical community, Centro Experimental y de Educación Ambiental El Diviso, Floridablanca (Ramírez 2004). This KBA is also key for Black-and-chestnut Eagle (Spizaetus isidori), Niceforo's Wren (Thryophilus nicefori-CR), however more information is required to meet population thresholds.

Manageability of the site: The management and conservation actions in this KBA are coordinated between the Regional Autonomous Corporation of the Bucaramanga Plateau and the owners of the reserves. This KBA is managed in a mixed way.

Delineation rationale: The limits of this KBA include part of the Cerro La Judia Regional Natural Park, properties of the Regional Autonomous Corporation of the Bucaramanga Plateau-CDMB and the Bucaramanga Metropolitan Aqueduct Company (AMB) such as El Diviso (CDMB: 150 ha, 1,750- 2,200 m, 7º08'03.1”N and 73º02'09.9”W), Finca La Mariana (AMB: 400 ha, 2,200 m, 7º07'44”N and 73º00'31.6”W) and Experimental Station La Esperanza (CDMB: 150 ha, 1,020 m, 7º04'04.8”N and 73º04'03.9”W). And community farms such as Los Maklenkes Peasant Reserve (12 ha 1700-2000 m, 07º 05'3.6"N, 73º 1'14.2"W), owned by the Maklenke Association.

Habitats

Summary of habitats in KBA: La Judia is mainly covered by montane forests; However, in some sectors there are agroforestry plantations of pine and eucalyptus and land dedicated to agriculture, coffee cultivation predominates, and livestock on a smaller scale.

IUCN Habitat	Coverage %	Habitat detail
Artificial - Aquatic	20	Plantations
Artificial - Terrestrial	35
Forest	60	Forest – Subtropical/tropical dry
Artificial - Aquatic	20	Rural Gardens

Threats

Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: There is a natural area of Andean forests, not exceeding 2,000 hectares, which is preserved due to its rugged topography. The expansion of agricultural frontiers and logging are the main conservation issues, affecting both the maintenance of the forests and the quantity and quality of local water sources. Despite rural awareness campaigns and the implementation of initiatives for sustainable management of local biodiversity, hunting and extraction of plant species activities still persist.

Additional information