Jambelí Archipelago (14624)
Ecuador, South America
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: D1a
Year of last assessment: 2024
National site name: Archipiélago de Jambelí
Central coordinates: Latitude: -3.3405, Longitude: -80.1515
System: marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 10
Area of KBA (km2): 489.23964
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: The Jambelí Archipelago is located off the coast of the province of El Oro in southwest Ecuador. The Archipelago has been dramatically deforested and damaged by shrimp farms during the last 25 years. Mangroves and other species associated with brackish habitats (mud banks, estuaries) thrive in this region. Hopefully, small remnants of mangroves still connected with the small extensions of mangroves from northwest Peru. This is an area where the only scientific data during the last 10 years have been produced by researchers from south Ecuador. Furthermore, the ocean near to the coast of this KBA is important for foraging purposes on several pelagic species mainly for the influence of the cold Humboldt current from south. Finally, the few roccky cliffs and walls in the area serves has stopover sites for pelagic and shore birds.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that meets the thresholds for at least one criterion described in the Global Standard for the Identification of KBA, Sula nebouxii (D1a).
Additional biodiversity: Sternula lorata (counts of more than 340 mature individuals in 2011). Crocodylus acutus.
Manageability of the site: Since 2018, the Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja (UTPL) signed an agreement to cooperate for the management of the mangroves of Jambelí under the figure of sustainable use and custody by ancestral organizations and traditional users, mainly fishermen, crabbers and shell collectors. This agreement receive the support of the German cooperation (GIZ), Heifer Fundation and the Ministry of Environment, Water and Ecological Transition.
Delineation rationale: This KBA follows the limits of the Jambelí archipelago aiming to cover the last remnants of mangroves, the shore and sea that serves as foraging ground and stopover of coastal and pelagic birds.
Habitats
Land use: fisheries/aquaculture | hunting | tourism/recreation | urban/industrial/transport
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Artificial - Aquatic | 50 | Excavations (open) |
| Marine Coastal/Supratidal | 5 | Mud Shoreline and Intertidal Mud Flats |
| Marine Deep Ocean Floor (Benthic and Demersal) | 10 | Mesopelagic (200–1,000 m) |
| Artificial - Terrestrial | 15 | Coastal Caves/Karsts |
| Marine Deep Ocean Floor (Benthic and Demersal) | 20 | Bathypelagic (1,000–4,000 m) |
Threats
| Threat level 1 | Threat level 2 | Threat level 3 | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Marine & freshwater aquaculture | Industrial aquaculture | Ongoing |
| Residential & commercial development | Tourism & recreation areas | Ongoing | |
| Energy production & mining | Mining & quarrying | Ongoing | |
| Transportation & service corridors | Shipping lanes | Ongoing | |
| Biological resource use | Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources | Motivation Unknown/Unrecorded | Ongoing |
| Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseases | Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases | Named species | Ongoing |
| Human intrusions & disturbance | War, civil unrest & military exercises | Ongoing | |
| Pollution | Industrial & military effluents | Seepage from mining | Ongoing |
| Pollution | Domestic & urban waste water | Sewage | Ongoing |
| Pollution | Agricultural & forestry effluents | Soil erosion, sedimentation | Ongoing |
| Pollution | Agricultural & forestry effluents | Nutrient loads | Ongoing |
| Natural system modifications | Other ecosystem modifications | Ongoing |
Additional information
Contributors: Valid eBird records by experienced birdwatchers in this case Roger Ahlman.