Manu (14920)
Peru, South America

Site overview

KBA status: confirmed

Global KBA criteria: A1a, A1b, A1c, A1e, B1, B2

Year of last assessment: 2023

National site name: Manu

Central coordinates: Latitude: -12.0851, Longitude: -71.6986

System: terrestrial

Elevation (m): 200 to 4050

Area of KBA (km²): 16987.4849

Protected area coverage (%): 100.00

KBA classification: Global

Legacy site: Yes

Site details

Site description: The KBA Manu covers an area of 16987.514 sq km and it's located within Perú, in the department of Madre de Dios and in the department of Cusco. This KBA is also a natural protected area (Manu National Park), which extends from the lowlands and mountainous slopes west of Madre de Dios, ascending to the puna area, above 4000 m, in the north-central part of the department of Cusco. The Park includes the entire Manu River basin, and partially the upper Madre de Dios River. The climate types present in the KBA Manu are: (1) warm and very rainy with abundant humidity all year round; (2) temperate, rainy with abundant humidity all year round; and (3) temperate, rainy with dry winter. The KBA Manu covers all the major ecosystems of eastern Peru, from the puna in the highlands, to the lowlands of the tropical forest, being probably one of the most biodiverse protected areas on the planet. Among the ecosystems encompassed by the KBA are: "Bosque de colina baja (Low hill forest)", "Bosque basimontano de Yunga (Yunga basimontane forest)", "Bosque aluvial inundable (Alluvial flooded forest)", "Bosque montano de Yunga (Yunga montane forest)", "Bosque de colina alta (High hill forest)", "Bosque de terraza no inundable (Non-flooded terrace forest)", "Bosque altimontano (Pluvial) de Yunga (Yunga altimontane (Pluvial) forest)", rivers and "Pajonal de puna húmeda (Humid puna grassland)".

Rationale for qualifying as KBA: The KBA Manu qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that meets the thresholds for A1, B1 and B2 criteria described in the Global Standard for the Identification of KBA. The KBA Manu harbors two range restricted plants, five trigger species of insects, the endangered Giant Otter (Pteronura brasiliensis), three threatened frogs and eleven range restricted bird species.

Additional biodiversity: Telmatobius timens, Pristimantis cosnipatae, Weinmannia microphylla, Mammals: Akodon torques, Oligoryzomys microtis, Sturnira erythromos, Carollia benkeithi, Artibeus obscurus, Lestoros inca, Artibeus planirostris, Noctilio albiventris, Hylaeamys perenensis, Carollia perspicillata, Carollia brevicauda, Akodon subfuscus, Microryzomys minutus, Euryoryzomys nitidus, Oxymycterus paramensis, Anoura geoffroyi, Phyllostomus elongatus, Proechimys steerei, Artibeus lituratus, Myotis albescens, Artibeus anderseni, Thomasomys aureus, Phyllostomus hastatus, Platyrrhinus incarum, Oligoryzomys destructor, Thomasomys daphne, Nephelomys levipes, Proechimys simonsi, Trachops cirrhosus, Uroderma bilobatum, Uroderma magnirostrum, Mesophylla macconnelli, Glossophaga soricina, Sturnira giannae , Micronycteris minuta, Lophostoma silvicolum , Macrophyllum macrophyllum, Myotis riparius, Thomasomys oreas, Artibeus glaucus, Marmosops noctivagus, Thyroptera tricolor, Oecomys bicolor, Anoura caudifer, Choeroniscus minor, Platyrrhinus brachycephalus, Platyrrhinus masu, Rhinophylla pumilio, Anoura javieri, Cavia tschudii, Lonchophylla thomasi, Monodelphis glirina, Vampyrodes caraccioli, Chiroderma villosum, Eptesicus brasiliensis, Metachirus myosuros, Neacomys spinosus, Nectomys apicalis, Proechimys pattoni, Gardnerycteris crenulatum. Birds: Nothoprocta taczanowskii, Neomorphus geoffroyi, Spizaetus isidori, Harpia harpyja, Ara militaris, Primolius couloni , Agamia agami, Zimmerius cinereicapilla, Lipaugus uropygialis, Herpsilochmus axillaris, Cnipodectes superrufus, Chaetura pelagica, Asthenes ottonis, Grallaria albigula, Glaucidium parkeri, Heliodoxa whitelyana, Cranioleuca albicapilla, Asthenes maculicauda, Pionites leucogaster, Nothocercus nigrocapillus, Aulacorhynchus coeruleicinctis, Crypturellus atrocapillus, Picumnus aurifrons, Eubucco tucinkae, Neochen jubata, Eubucco versicolor, Aburria aburri, Pteroglossus beauharnaisii, Andigena hypoglauca, Galbalcyrhynchus purusianus, Brachygalba albogularis, Galbula cyanicollis, Galbula cyanescens, Malacoptila semicincta, Malacoptila rufa, Leptosittaca branickii, Pyrrhura rupicola, Nannopsittaca dachilleae, Phaethornis koepckeae, Phaethornis philippii, Phaethornis stuarti, Coeligena violifer ,Chaetocercus bombus, Metriopelia ceciliae, Psophia leucoptera, Calidris subruficollis, Accipiter collaris, Leucopternis kuhli, Buteogallus solitarius, Morphnus guianensis, Leptopogon taczanowskii, Pseudotriccus simplex, Hemitriccus flammulatus, Zimmerius bolivianus, Myiophobus inornatus, Nephelomyias ochraceiventris, Conioptilon mcilhennyi, Ochthoeca oenanthoides, Myiotheretes fuscorufus, Pipreola intermedia, Chiroxiphia boliviana, Thamnomanes schistogynus, Epinecrophylla leucophthalma, Cercomacra manu, Myrmoborus melanurus, Hypocnemoides maculicauda, Myrmoborus lophotes, Akletos goeldii, Oneillornis salvini, Syndactyla ucayalae, Asthenes urubambensis, Drymotoxeres pucheranii, Thripadectes scrutator, Hylopezus berlepschi, Conopophaga ardesiaca, Cyanolyca viridicyanus, Entomodestes leucotis, Creurgops dentatus, Islerothraupis rufiventer, Iridosornis jelskii, Dubusia castaneoventris, Diglossa mystacalis, Psarocolius atrovirens, Scytalopus bolivianus, Cinnycerthia peruana, Synallaxis cabanisi, Synallaxis cherriei, Amazilia viridicauda, Scytalopus parvirostris.

Manageability of the site: Being a National Park, the KBA Manu is managed by the National Service of Protected Natural Areas - SERNANP (https://www.gob.pe/sernanp).

Supersedes another site: -

Other site values: Within the KBA, there are Tayakome and Yomibato native communities, the Callanga farmers association, and indigenous populations in voluntary isolation. Source: SERNANP. (2019). Parque Nacional del Manu. https://www.gob.pe/institucion/sernanp/informes-publicaciones/1948163-parque-nacional-del-manu

Delineation rationale: The KBA Manu covers the same area that the Manu National Park, and shares the same boundaries. The northern border is the watershed between the Río de las Piedras and the Manu River, and the western limit is the Paucartambo mountain chain, which divides the waters of the Urubamba River from the upper Madre de Dios basin.

Habitats

Summary of habitats in KBA: Forest 90-100%, Grassland 1-10%, Other 1-10%

Land use: Natural Area Protected by the Peruvian Government, and Area of International Conservation Interest

IUCN Habitat	Coverage %	Habitat detail
Forest	90.5
Grassland	4.8
Other	4.8

Threats

Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: Tourism and clandestine logging are the main threats to the preservation of the area. This site is also threatened by habitat alteration, urban and road development, livestock farming, fishing activities and oil spills.

Threat level 1	Threat level 2	Threat level 3	Timing
Climate change & severe weather	Habitat shifting & alteration		Only in the future
Residential & commercial development	Housing & urban areas		Ongoing
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops	Scale Unknown/Unrecorded	Ongoing
Biological resource use	Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources	Motivation Unknown/Unrecorded	Ongoing
Natural system modifications	Fire & fire suppression	Trend Unknown/Unrecorded	Ongoing
Pollution	Industrial & military effluents	Oil spills	Ongoing
Agriculture & aquaculture	Livestock farming & ranching	Small-holder grazing, ranching or farming	Ongoing
Biological resource use	Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	Intentional use (species being assessed is the target)	Ongoing
Biological resource use	Logging & wood harvesting	Unintentional effects: subsistence/small scale (species being assessed is not the target) [harvest]	Ongoing
Pollution	Air-borne pollutants	Type Unknown/Unrecorded	Ongoing
Residential & commercial development	Tourism & recreation areas		Ongoing
Energy production & mining	Mining & quarrying		Ongoing
Transportation & service corridors	Roads & railroads		Ongoing

Additional information

References: Castro, A., Dávila, C., Laura, W., Cubas Saucedo, F., Ávalos, G., López, C., ... & Marín, D.(2021). Climate of Perú: National climate classification map. https://www.senamhi.gob.pe/?p=mapa-climatico-del-peru MINAM (2018) National Ecosystems Map of Peru. In SINIA (National Environmental Information System). https://sinia.minam.gob.pe/mapas/mapa-nacional-ecosistemas-peru.