Lake Kuccharo (15001)
Japan, Asia
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2011
National site name: Lake Kuccharo
Central coordinates: Latitude: 45.1333, Longitude: 142.3000
System: freshwater, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 5
Area of KBA (km2): 29.3219
Protected area coverage (%): 97.80
KBA classification: Regional
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: Kuccharoko lake is an inland sea which faces the Sea of Okhotsk in the north of Hokkaido. The lake consists of two small lakes, Onuma (5.5 m diameter) and Konuma (3m diameter), and is 27 km around, with an average water depth of 1.5 m. During high tide, seawater flows back from Okhotsk Sea, because of the lake's low altitude. Neighboring areas are covered with Carex, Sphagrum and Phragmites australis, and eight rivers flow into the lakes.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that was identified using previously established criteria and thresholds for the identification of Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) and for which available data indicate that it does not meet global KBA criteria and thresholds set out in the Global Standard.
Habitats
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Wetlands(Inland) | 100 |
Threats
| Threat level 1 | Threat level 2 | Threat level 3 | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pollution | Agricultural & forestry effluents | Nutrient loads | Ongoing |
| Biological resource use | Logging & wood harvesting | Unintentional effects: subsistence/small scale (species being assessed is not the target) [harvest] | Only in the past and unlikely to return |
| Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseases | Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases | Named species | Ongoing |
| Energy production & mining | Renewable energy | Only in the future | |
| Climate change & severe weather | Storms & flooding | Ongoing | |
| Climate change & severe weather | Temperature extremes | Ongoing |