Thaleban (15188)
Thailand, Asia
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2012
National site name: Thaleban
Central coordinates: Latitude: 6.7667, Longitude: 100.1500
System: terrestrial
Elevation (m): 20 to 756
Area of KBA (km2): 199.88744
KBA classification: Global/Regional TBD
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: The site comprises Thale Ban National Park, in the extreme south-west of peninsular Thailand. The site lies along the international border with Malaysia, and is linked to Ton Nga Chang Wildlife Sanctuary to the north by contiguous natural forest. The topography of the site is characterised by steep-sided hills, formed largely of limestone in the west and granite in the east. The national park boundary follows the base of these hills and excludes nearly all level lowland areas. Most of the natural forest at the site is distributed on steep hill slopes, and there is only a very small area of forest on level lowlands at around 100 m asl. The site also encompasses a 32 ha swamp, and small areas of banana and coffee cultivation.
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: The site is important for the conservation of a number of lowland evergreen forest species, including the globally threatened Wallace's Hawk Eagle Spizaetus nanus. The site is known to regularly support significant numbers of 36 globally near-threatened species, most of which are restricted to the Sundaic Lowland Forests (Biome 14). In addition, there are historical records of the globally vulnerable Masked Finfoot Heliopais personata from the site, with the last being in 1987. The site qualifies under criterion A3 because it supports 67 species restricted to the Sundaic Lowland Forests (Biome 14). Non-bird biodiversity: Mammals Asian Elephant Elephas maximus (EN) Tiger Panthera tigris (EN) Southern Serow Capricornicus sumatraensis (VU) Plants Dipterocarpus kerrii (CR) Parashorea stellata (CR) Shorea hypochra (CR) Hopea pedicellata (EN) Shorea henryana (EN) Borassodendron machadonis ((VU))
Habitats
Summary of habitats in KBA: The site comprises Thale Ban National Park, in the extreme south-west of peninsular Thailand. The site lies along the international border with Malaysia, and is linked to Ton Nga Chang Wildlife Sanctuary to the north by contiguous natural forest. The topography of the site is characterised by steep-sided hills, formed largely of limestone in the west and granite in the east. The national park boundary follows the base of these hills and excludes nearly all level lowland areas. Most of the natural forest at the site is distributed on steep hill slopes, and there is only a very small area of forest on level lowlands at around 100 m asl. The site also encompasses a 32 ha swamp, and small areas of banana and coffee cultivation.
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Forest | 50 | |
| Artificial - Terrestrial | 50 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: One of the main threats to biodiversity at the site is agricultural encroachment, particularly conversion of forest to coffee and durian plantations. Another threat is hunting and bird trapping, including collection of juvenile hornbills from the nest. Furthermore, over-exploitation of forest products and unsustainable tourism development are also threats to biodiversity at the site.
Additional information
References: BirdLife International (1998) Proceedings of the Thailand IBA workshop, Bangkok, November 1998. Unpublished report. Kreetiyutanot, K. and Pattapong, P. (1993) Rhinoceros and wildlife survey in Thale Ban National Park, Satun, Thailand. Unpublished report. National Park Division (2001) National parks in Thailand. Bangkok: Office of Natural Resource Conservation, Royal Forestry Department. Round, P. D. (1988) Resident forest birds in Thailand: their status and conservation. Cambridge, UK: International Council for Bird Preservation. UNEP/World Conservation Monitoring Centre website http//:www.wcmc.org.uk/protected_areas