Na Muang Krabi (15127)
Thailand, Asia
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2012
National site name: Na Muang Krabi
Central coordinates: Latitude: 7.9500, Longitude: 98.8500
System: marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 200
Area of KBA (km2): 164.01929
Protected area coverage (%): 41.68
KBA classification: Global/Regional TBD
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: The IBA comprises the estuary of the Krabi river, immediately upstream and downstream of Krabi town, on the west coast of peninsular Thailand. Mangroves cover c.10,200 ha, and have mostly been degraded by logging. Intertidal sand- and mudflats cover a further c.1,200 ha at the river mouth. The site also includes a number of limestone karst outcrops. The site is included within Krabi Estuary Ramsar Site, which was designated in 2001and covers 21,299 ha.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance because it meets one or more previously established criteria and thresholds for identifying sites of biodiversity importance (including Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas, Alliance for Zero Extinction sites, and Key Biodiversity Areas) The site has been reviewed and re-confirmed as a KBA in the process of compiling the revised 2011 CEPF Ecosystem Profile for the Indo-Burma Hotspot.
Additional biodiversity: Na Muang Krabi is an important site for migratory waterbirds. The globally threatened Nordmann's Greenshank Tringa guttifer and Chinese Egret Egretta eulophotes are regular winter visitors to the site, while another globally threatened species, Masked Finfoot Heliopais personata, is a regular non-breeding visitor. The site supports resident populations of two globally near-threatened species, Mangrove Pitta Pitta megarhyncha and Brown-winged Kingfisher Halcyon amauroptera, while a third globally near-threatened species, Asian Dowitcher Limnodromus semipalmatus, occurs regularly as a passage migrant. In addition, the site supports of 1% of the Asian biogeographic populations of Common Tern Sterna hirundo and Lesser Crested Tern S. bengalensis. The site qualifies under criterion A3 because it supports one species (Masked Finfoot) restricted to the Indochinese Tropical Moist Forests (Biome 09). Non-bird biodiversity: No information is available about other globally threatened species at the site.
Habitats
Summary of habitats in KBA: The IBA comprises the estuary of the Krabi river, immediately upstream and downstream of Krabi town, on the west coast of peninsular Thailand. Mangroves cover c.10,200 ha, and have mostly been degraded by logging. Intertidal sand- and mudflats cover a further c.1,200 ha at the river mouth. The site also includes a number of limestone karst outcrops. The site is included within Krabi Estuary Ramsar Site, which was designated in 2001and covers 21,299 ha.
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Artificial - Terrestrial | 1 | |
| Marine Neritic | 1 | |
| Forest | 86 | |
| Marine Intertidal | 11 | |
| Marine Coastal/Supratidal | 1 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: The proximity of the site to Krabi town, one of the most popular tourist destinations in peninsular Thailand, means that biodiversity at the site is threatened by tourism development, infrastructure development and pollution. Other threats to biodiversity include loss of mature mangrove, due to conversion into shrimp ponds and a lack of environmental safeguards in afforestation schemes. In addition, dredging of river channels at the site is altering sedimentation patterns important for maintaining sandbars and intertidal mudflats.
| Threat level 1 | Threat level 2 | Threat level 3 | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pollution | Industrial & military effluents | Type Unknown/Unrecorded | Ongoing |
| Residential & commercial development | Commercial & industrial areas | Only in the future | |
| Transportation & service corridors | Shipping lanes | Only in the future | |
| Natural system modifications | Other ecosystem modifications | Ongoing | |
| Human intrusions & disturbance | Work & other activities | Ongoing |
Additional information
References: Bird Conservation Society of Thailand Bulletin 20(12) (December 2003). BirdLife International (1998) Proceedings of the Thailand IBA workshop, Bangkok, November 1998. Unpublished report. BirdLife International (2001) Threatened birds of Asia: the BirdLife International Red Data Book. Cambridge, UK: BirdLife International. Office of Environmental Policy and Planning (1999) Directory of internationally important wetlands in Thailand. Bangkok: Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment. (In Thai.) Ramsar Bureau website http//: www.ramsar.org