Tilomar (15825)
Timor-Leste, Asia
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2014
National site name: Tilomar
Central coordinates: Latitude: -9.3990, Longitude: 125.1150
System: terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 1000
Area of KBA (km2): 53.05554
Protected area coverage (%): 95.58
KBA classification: Global/Regional TBD
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: This IBA is dominated by tropical deciduous forest on limestone hills, with patches of evergreen forest along perennial springs at the base of a rocky hill. Most coastal forest has been converted to rice and agriculture, but a small freshwater wetland and well-vegetated saline lagoons are present along the coast. This site is known in Indonesian as ‘Hutan Tilomar’ (‘Tilomar Forest’) (RTK 34) (Ora 2000).
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: Lambert et al. (2006) conducted a four-day bird forest survey around Foho Lulik village and located the Endangered Wetar Ground-dove, only the second record of this poorly-known species on Timor and the first in Timor-Leste. Twenty-five restricted-range species have been recorded in this IBA, plus the Critically Endangered Yellow-crested Cockatoo (Ora 2000, Lambert et al. 2006).
Delineation rationale: 2013-08-09 (BL Secretariat): Area changed from 12800 ha (2004 pan-Asian IBA book) to 22708 ha (2007 national IBA book); coordinates in the latter book (10deg02minN 123deg54minE) are wrong. 2015-06-10 (BL Secretariat): site area changed from 22708 ha to 5348 ha, following 2014 CEPF Ecosystem Profile (polygon proposed at TLS workshop).
Habitats
Summary of habitats in KBA: This IBA is dominated by tropical deciduous forest on limestone hills, with patches of evergreen forest along perennial springs at the base of a rocky hill. Most coastal forest has been converted to rice and agriculture, but a small freshwater wetland and well-vegetated saline lagoons are present along the coast. This site is known in Indonesian as ‘Hutan Tilomar’ (‘Tilomar Forest’) (RTK 34) (Ora 2000).
Land use: nature conservation and research
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Wetlands(Inland) | 5 | |
| Artificial - Terrestrial | 5 | |
| Forest | 90 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: Threats include illegal timber cutting, forest conversion by swidden agriculture and to plantations such as Teak Tectona grandis, hunting and wildfires (FAO/UNDP 1982).