Guanahacabibes (19811)
Cuba, Caribbean

Site overview

KBA status: confirmed

Global KBA criteria: A1e, B2

Year of last assessment: 2018

National site name: Guanahacabibes

Central coordinates: Latitude: 21.9170, Longitude: -84.5030

System: freshwater, terrestrial

Elevation (m): 0 to 19

Area of KBA (km²): 1008.50573

Protected area coverage (%): 98.83

KBA classification: Global

Legacy site: Yes

Site details

Site description: Guanahacabibes IBA is located in the municipality of Sandino, Pinar del Río province, in westernmost Cuba. It comprises the forested, flat limestone plain of the Guanahacabibes peninsula, itself formed by the peninsulas of Cabo de San Antonio and Corrientes. Cliffs rise to 19 m on the south coast from where the land slopes gently across the peninsula down to sea level on the north coast. A range of limestone formations, including caves, are found within the IBA. The Cueva la Barca, contains a rich, nationally important cave biota. The town of La Bajada (1,146 inhabitants) is located within the IBA.

Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that meets the thresholds for at least one criterion described in the Global Standard for the Identification of KBAs. Alliance for Zero Extinction (2018): site confirmed as an AZE site during the AZE project (2015-2018). Taxonomy, nomenclature and Red List category follow the IUCN 2016 Red List.

Additional biodiversity: This IBA supports 190 bird species (31 of which are biomerestricted species), including 11 Cuban endemics and nine globally threatened species of which the Blue-headed Quail Dove Starnoenas cyanocephala, Giant Kingbird Tyrannus cubensis and Gundlach’s Hawk Accipiter gundlachi are all Endangered. The Cuban EBA restricted-range Yellow-headed Warbler Teretistris fernandinae and Red-shouldered Blackbird Agelaius assimilis both occur. Guanahacabibes forms part of the migratory corridor of the Mississippi flyway, and is a bottleneck site during fall migration. Bird capture rates during migration mist-netting studies have been higher in this IBA than anywhere else in Cuba. Non-bird biodiversity: The Endangered (and endemic) frog Eleutherodactylus guanahacabibes occurs, as do other endemic reptiles including Anolis quadriocellifer and Antillophis andreai peninsulae. A number of endemic rodents and bats occur, and 14 plant species are confined to the IBA.

Habitats

Land use: agriculture | forestry (90%) | nature conservation and research (40%) | rangeland/pastureland | tourism/recreation (25%)

IUCN Habitat	Coverage %	Habitat detail
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	1
Caves & Subterranean Habitats (non-aquatic)	1
Forest	78
Marine Intertidal	1
Marine Neritic	19

Threats

Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: In 1959, the areas of El Veral and Cabo Corrientes within the Guanahacabibes IBA were designated as natural reserves, and as strict conservation areas in 1963. The whole IBA was declared a biosphere reserve in 1987, within which the core zone, Guanahacabibes National Park, was approved by the government in 2001. Residents of La Bajada work mainly in forestry, apiculture, cattle farming, and cultivation of tobacco and other crops. Some are employed in a nearby scuba-diving centre. Other land uses include selective logging and pig foraging. Scientific research is the only activity conducted in the core zone. Threats to the IBA include ecosystem degradation, invasive species, tourism-related development and disturbance. Fishing, hunting and harvesting of natural resources also exert pressure on the ecosystem.

Additional information