Mount Pleasant Forest Reserve (19935)
St Vincent and the Grenadines, Caribbean

Site overview

KBA status: confirmed

Global KBA criteria: B2

Year of last assessment: 2009

National site name: Mount Pleasant Forest Reserve

Central coordinates: Latitude: 13.2745, Longitude: -61.1388

System: terrestrial

Elevation (m): 19 to 885

Area of KBA (km²): 11.78722

Protected area coverage (%): 100.00

KBA classification: Global

Legacy site: Yes

Site details

Site description: Mount Pleasant Reserve lies to the south-east of the proposed La Soufrière National Park and is bordered on its west and south by Richmond and Colonarie Forest Reserves, respectively. Agricultural activities occur primarily along its eastern boundary. It comprises a mixture of Rainforest and Secondary Rainforest, along with Palm Brake in its higher elevations. Dominant rainforest species include Prestoea montana, Dacryodes excelsa , several species of Lauraceae, Meliosma herbertii, Micropholis chrysophylloides and Sloanea caribaea . P. montana and Heliconia spp . are common in Palm Brake. Its undulating landscape supports a rich diversity of flora and fauna and many scenic mountain vistas. The Reserve encompasses the Perseverance water catchment that produces approximately 5% of the country’s annual water output (Ivor Jackson and Associates, 2004). Erosion is a common phenomenon caused by steep slopes, heavy rainfall and accelerated by human pressure on the land. This includes deforestation to facilitate agriculture-related squatting and illegal marijuana cultivation.

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.

Additional biodiversity: Two (2) Globally-threatened Species and thirteen (13) RRS are recorded here. Other species of note include the House Wren, Short-tailed Swift, Scaly-naped Pigeon, Caribbean Elaenia and Black Hawk Non-bird biodiversity: As part of the proposed Central Forest Reserve, species also include endemic herpetofauna A. griseus, C. vincenti, A. griseus and A. trinitatus; endemic sub-species M. bruesi and endemic flora A. vincentiana, B. rotundifolia, P. cuneata, P. vincentiana, E. vincentinum, C. vincentiana and C. tenera.

Delineation rationale: Mark has the shapefiles.

Habitats

Summary of habitats in KBA: Agricultural activities occur primarily along its eastern boundary. It comprises a mixture of Rainforest and Secondary Rainforest, along with Palm Brake in its higher elevations. Dominant rainforest species include Prestoea montana, Dacryodes excelsa, several species of Lauraceae, Meliosma herbertii, Micropholis chrysophylloides and Sloanea caribaea. P. montana and Heliconia spp. are common in Palm Brake.Its undulating landscape supports a rich diversity of flora and fauna and many scenic mountain vistas. The Reserve encompasses the Perseverance water catchment that produces approximately 5% of the country's annual water output (Ivor Jackson and Associates, 2004).

Land use: agriculture | water management

IUCN Habitat	Coverage %	Habitat detail
Forest	100

Threats

Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: Human activity leads to removal of prime wildlife habitat; causing loss of wildlife and accelerated erosion. Issues related to poaching of the St. Vincent Parrot continue to be a major concern.

Additional information