Sventaja valley (18950)
Latvia, Europe
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2004
National site name: Sventajas ieleja
Central coordinates: Latitude: 56.1343, Longitude: 21.2260
System: terrestrial
Area of KBA (km2): 4.4653
Protected area coverage (%): 92.06
KBA classification: Regional
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: Approximately 20.5 km long stretch of the unregulated Sventaja river valley on the Latvian- Lithuanian border, with mostly open or abandoned and overgrowing farmland on its right bank slopes and flood-plain. New IBA - listed for the first time after the Emerald project. Fully protected: there is a 100% overlap with Sventaja river valley restricted nature reserve, a candidate SPA.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that was identified using previously established criteria and thresholds for the identification of Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) and for which available data indicate that it does not meet global KBA criteria and thresholds set out in the Global Standard.
Habitats
Land use: agriculture | forestry (1%) | tourism/recreation (2%)
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Shrubland | 48 | |
| Artificial - Terrestrial | 8 | |
| Forest | 29 | |
| Grassland | 16 |