Kuja (18967)
Latvia, Europe
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2004
National site name: Kuja
Central coordinates: Latitude: 56.8683, Longitude: 26.3722
System: terrestrial
Area of KBA (km2): 108.39007
Protected area coverage (%): 99.26
KBA classification: Regional
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: A vast area of moderately fragmented mixture of open and largely drained fields along the Kuja river and its tributaries, and predominantly deciduous and mixed forest blocks. It comprises small areas of remnant flood-plain meadows. In parts, there are scattered old oak trees on fields. New IBA, listed for the first time after the Emerald project. Fully protected: there is a 99.6% overlap with the newly designated Kuja nature park, a candidate SPA. The gap between IBA and pSPA boundaries is mostly due to differences in methods in boundary setting.
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 (50%) | forestry (35%) | hunting | nature conservation and research | tourism/recreation | urban/industrial/transport
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Forest | 38 | |
| Artificial - Terrestrial | 17 | |
| Shrubland | 5 | |
| Grassland | 41 |