Irabere - Iliomar (15797)
Timor-Leste, Asia
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2014
National site name: Irabere - Iliomar
Central coordinates: Latitude: -8.7150, Longitude: 126.6990
System: terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 500
Area of KBA (km2): 164.45353
Protected area coverage (%): 50.03
KBA classification: Global/Regional TBD
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: The area around the estuary of the Irabere River is dominated by a mixture of degraded semi-evergreen forest on alluvium, agricultural land and riparian Casuarina forest. Extensive tropical dry forest and moist deciduous forest extends east from the river to about 20 km inland, with scattered agricultural land particularly in the lands of the isolated Tirilolo village.
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) KBA identified by the 2014 CEPF Wallacea Ecosystem Profile process. Taxonomy and threat status follow the 2013 IUCN Red List.
Additional biodiversity: Eleven restricted-range species and the Critically Endangered Yellow-crested Cockatoo were recorded in this IBA during surveys conducted in 2003 by BirdLife International and the Timor-Leste government around the Irabere estuary, but the extensive dry forest is yet to covered by biological assessments and this IBA was considered to be a priority for further field survey work (Trainor et al. 2004).
Delineation rationale: 2015-06-10 (BL Secretariat): site area changed from 16554 ha to 16400 ha, following 2014 CEPF Ecosystem Profile.
Habitats
Summary of habitats in KBA: The area around the estuary of the Irabere River is dominated by a mixture of degraded semi-evergreen forest on alluvium, agricultural land and riparian Casuarina forest. Extensive tropical dry forest and moist deciduous forest extends east from the river to about 20 km inland, with scattered agricultural land particularly in the lands of the isolated Tirilolo village.
Land use: agriculture | forestry
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Forest | 95 | |
| Artificial - Terrestrial | 5 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: Illegal timber harvesting is likely to be a problem in this isolated area, and the capture of flying-foxes Pteropus spp. at a large colony is probably affecting the numbers of these bats.