El Cocuy Natural National Park (19084)
Colombia, South America

Site overview

KBA status: confirmed

Global KBA criteria: A1a, B1

Year of last assessment: 2023

National site name: Parque Nacional Natural El Cocuy

Central coordinates: Latitude: 6.5247, Longitude: -72.1525

System: terrestrial, freshwater

Elevation (m): 600 to 5330

Area of KBA (km²): 3062.16864

Protected area coverage (%): 99.86

KBA classification: Global

Legacy site: Yes

Site details

Site description: The El Cocuy National Natural Park is located on the Eastern Cordillera in three departments: Boyacá, Casanare and Arauca; in Boyacá, in the municipalities of Chita, El Cocuy, Cubará, Chiscas, El Espino, Güicán and Cubará, in Casanare, in the municipalities of La Salina and Sácama, and in Arauca, in the municipalities of Tame, Fortúl and Saravena. The Cocuy Park is an important hydrographic reserve because it feeds, to the east, the basins of the Arauca and Casanare rivers, and to the west, the middle basin of the Chicamocha river. Due to the altitudinal gradient, the Park presents ecosystems of savannahs, Andean forests, moors and perpetual snow. It is located in the Norandina biogeographic province (Hernández-Camacho et al. 1992a, b). Three different cultural groups are represented in the territory of the Park: the Uwa, the llaneros who are settled on the foothills of the mountain range, the foothills and the savannahs, and the high Andean peasant culture on the western slope of the mountain range. The bird community in the Park corresponds to the strong altitudinal gradient in its lands. The presence of Vultur gryphus is highlighted.

Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This KBA is important for the conservation of an endangered bird species: the Apolinar´s Wren, specifically for the high mountain populations previously considered to be of the subspecies C.a. hernández, meeting criterion A1a. Also, five plants species triggered some KBA criteria: Espeletia cleefii triggered A1a and B1 criteria; and Espeletia curialensis, Espeletia lopezii, Espeletiopsis colombiana and Bejaria tachirensis triggered only B1 criteria.

Additional biodiversity: This KBA registers more than 300 species of birds: https://ebird.org/region/BIRDLIFE_19084?yr=all&m=&rank=mrec, In other elements for the KBA endemic flora species have been registered such as: Espeletia lopezii, Espeletiopsis jimenezquesadae , Espeletia coingestifl ora, Draba hammenii, Oritrophium cocuyense, Senecio cleefi i, Senecio cocuyanus and Senecio fl osfragans, among others. In fauna, the following have been reported: Jaguar (Panthera onca, NT), Margay (Leopardus tigrinus, NT), Páramo Tapir (Tapirus pinchaque, EN), White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus), Woolly monkey (Lagothrix lugens, VU) and the spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus, VU).

Manageability of the site: The management of this KBA is agreed between the indigenous communities included in the KBA and National Natural Parks of Colombia.

Other site values: The U'wa indigenous community lives in the KBA, which has four reservations within the KBA: United U'wa Reservation, Laguna Tranquila Reservation, Cibariza Reservation and Sabana se Curipao Reservation

Delineation rationale: The limits of this KBA correspond to the limits of the PNN El Cocuy

Habitats

Summary of habitats in KBA: The altitudinal gradient that comprises the Park from 600 meters above sea level to 5,330 meters above sea level makes the following ecosystems possible: humid jungle and tropical lowland savannas; forests with predominance of palms, Weinmannia and some oaks; Andean dwarf forest and sub-paramo. The super paramo belt extends between 4,000 and 4,200 meters above sea level, where frosts are common. The snow zone extends from approximately 4,500 to 5,330 meters above sea level. The protected area covers about 170,000 hectares above 3,000 meters above sea level, a little more than half of the Park, where the complex paramo ecosystem is located.

Land use: Due to the altitudinal gradient, the park features ecosystems ranging from savannas and Andean forests to páramos and perpetual snow. It is located in the Norandina biogeographic province (Hernández-Camacho et al. 1992a, b).

IUCN Habitat	Coverage %	Habitat detail
Other	20
Wetlands(Inland)	10	Wetlands (inland) – Permanent freshwater lakes (over 8 ha)
Forest	60	Forest – Subtropical/tropical moist montane
Wetlands(Inland)	10	Wetlands (inland) – Permanent rivers/streams/creeks (includes waterfalls)

Threats

Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: The complexity of the ecosystems represented in PNN El Cocuy makes them particularly fragile. They are constantly threatened by the implementation of productive systems by three different cultural groups.

Threat level 1	Threat level 2	Threat level 3	Timing
Agriculture & aquaculture	Livestock farming & ranching	Agro-industry grazing, ranching or farming	Ongoing
Human intrusions & disturbance	War, civil unrest & military exercises		Ongoing
Climate change & severe weather	Habitat shifting & alteration		Ongoing

Additional information

References: BirdLife International (2023) Important Bird Area factsheet: Parque Nacional Natural El Cocuy. Downloaded from http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/parque-nacional-natural-el-cocuy-iba-colombia on 13/12/2023.