Ko Li Bong (15129)
Thailand, Asia
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2012
National site name: Ko Li Bong
Central coordinates: Latitude: 7.3000, Longitude: 99.4500
System: marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 100
Area of KBA (km2): 31.12412
Protected area coverage (%): 100.00
KBA classification: Global/Regional TBD
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: The IBA comprises Ko Libong Non-hunting Area, which is located in the Andaman Sea, near the estuary of the Trang river. The site encompasses a large inhabited island, several smaller satellite islands, intertidal mudflats, sandy beaches, mangroves, terrestrial forest (including beach forest in a few areas), extensive seagrass beds, open sea and coral reefs. Mangrove species present include Rhizophora apiculata, R. mucronata, Intsia bijuga and Sonneratia caseolaris. Ko Libong Non-hunting Area is included in a 66,313 ha Ramsar Site, designated in 2002, which also includes Hat Chao Mai National Park (IBA TH051) and the estuary of the Trang river.
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: Ko Libong Non-hunting Area is an important wintering and staging area for migratory shorebirds and terns. Most notably, it regularly supports a significant wintering population of the globally endangered Nordmann's Greenshank Tringa guttifer, accounting for over 1% of the Asian biogeographic population. In addition, there are recent records of the globally vulnerable Chinese Egret Egretta eulophotes, and an historical record of the globally vulnerable Masked Finfoot Heliopais personata from 1987. Furthermore, two globally near-threatened species, Brown-winged Kingfisher Halcyon amauroptera and Malaysian Plover Charadrius peronii, are resident at the site, while a third, Asian Dowitcher Limnodromus semipalmatus, has been recorded at the site but is not thought to regularly occur in significant numbers. Non-bird biodiversity: Plants Dipterocarpus grandiflorus (CR) Dipterocarpus kerrii (CR) Vatica cinerea (EN)
Habitats
Summary of habitats in KBA: The IBA comprises Ko Libong Non-hunting Area, which is located in the Andaman Sea, near the estuary of the Trang river. The site encompasses a large inhabited island, several smaller satellite islands, intertidal mudflats, sandy beaches, mangroves, terrestrial forest (including beach forest in a few areas), extensive seagrass beds, open sea and coral reefs. Mangrove species present include Rhizophora apiculata, R. mucronata, Intsia bijuga and Sonneratia caseolaris. Ko Libong Non-hunting Area is included in a 66,313 ha Ramsar Site, designated in 2002, which also includes Hat Chao Mai National Park (IBA TH051) and the estuary of the Trang river.
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Marine Coastal/Supratidal | 20 | |
| Marine Intertidal | 40 | |
| Marine Neritic | 20 | |
| Forest | 20 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: The primary threats to biodiversity at the site are hunting of waterbirds, illegal logging, unsustainable tourism development and associated pollution, and conversion of forest into rubber plantations.
| Threat level 1 | Threat level 2 | Threat level 3 | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Residential & commercial development | Tourism & recreation areas | Ongoing | |
| Pollution | Garbage & solid waste | Ongoing |
Additional information
References: 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.