Páramo del Duende Natural Regional Park (19092)
Colombia, South America

Site overview

KBA status: confirmed

Global KBA criteria: A1b, B1, B2

Year of last assessment: 2023

National site name: Parque Natural Regional Páramo del Duende

Central coordinates: Latitude: 4.1194, Longitude: -76.4964

System: terrestrial, freshwater

Elevation (m): 1300 to 3800

Area of KBA (km²): 283.29396

Protected area coverage (%): 44.02

KBA classification: Global

Legacy site: Yes

Site details

Site description: The Páramo del Duende Natural Regional Park corresponds to an area of páramo in excellent conservation state located on the Western Cordillera, within the jurisdiction of the municipalities of Riofrío and Darién in the Valle del Cauca department, and Docordó in Chocó. Despite being less humid than other páramos located on the Western Cordillera, multiple bodies of water originate there, including the Calima, Bravo, Azul, and Frío rivers, among others. Within the park, there are two main types of vegetation cover (Gómez 1999). The first type dominates the valleys with gentle slopes, and its vegetation mainly consists of grasses, various types of herbs, and some scattered shrubs. The second type of vegetation cover occupies most of the páramo area and is found on less deep soils, less flooded areas, and with diverse slopes, including the edges of ravines. There, dense scrublands prevail, composed of shrubs and giant herbs such as ferns and orchids.

Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This KBA is important for the conservation of the range-restricted plant species Espeletia praefrontina that triggered the B1 criteria. For two bird species that triggered B2 criteria which are Picumnus granadensis and Scytalopus vicinior. And also for the presence of two amphibians: Pristimantis duende that triggered the A1b, B1 and B2 criteria and also by Pristimantis calcaratus that only triggered B2 criteria.

Additional biodiversity: The flora studies conducted in the area recorded 268 individuals belonging to 79 species, distributed across 42 families. The family with the highest number of species was Lauraceae, representing 7.59% of the total, with the genera Nectandra and Ocotea being the most abundant. Following closely are the families Melastomataceae and Cyclanthaceae, each representing 6.32%, with five genera in each case. Overall, a dominance of tree and shrub species was observed, including notable ones such as Nectandra acutifolia, Weinmannia pubescens, and Cyathea caracasana (tree fern), among others. Concerning habitat distribution, approximately 36.7% of the sampling corresponded to trees (29 individuals), 12.6% to shrubs (12 individuals), 10.1% to herbs (eight individuals), and 5.06% to vines (four individuals) (CVC, 2000). Regarding fauna, significant efforts have also been made to collect primary information in both the PNR and its buffer zone. In the Páramo, 18 mammal species have been recorded, including three bats (Anoura geoffroyi, Sturnira erythromos, and Eptesicus), three mice (Orizomys, Thomasomys, Chilomys), a shrew (Caenolestes), a shrew (Cryptotis), a coati (presumably Nasuella olivacea), a puma, and a bear. Footprints of the Andean tapir, a species no longer reported in the western mountain range, have also been found.

Manageability of the site: Páramo del Duende Natural Regional Park is managed by the administrative direction of Parques Nacionales Naturales de Colombia

Other site values: Documented presence of afro-descendant communities as the Acadesan

Delineation rationale: This area was established following the area for Páramo del Duende proposed in the AICAs boundaries. Only some vertices of the polygon were checked to avoid overlapping with Alto Calima Region (KBA ID: 14421)

Habitats

IUCN Habitat	Coverage %	Habitat detail
Forest		Forest – Subtropical/tropical moist montane
Shrubland		Shrubland – Subtropical/tropical high altitude

Threats

Threat level 1	Threat level 2	Threat level 3	Timing
Biological resource use	Logging & wood harvesting	Intentional use: subsistence/small scale (species being assessed is the target) [harvest]	Ongoing
Human intrusions & disturbance	Work & other activities

Additional information

References: https://sidap.cvc.gov.co/index.php/es/areas-protegidas/pnr-paramo-del-duende