Ilhéus / Itabuna (20122)
Brazil, South America

Site overview

KBA status: confirmed

Global KBA criteria: A1a, A1b, A1e, B1, B2, B3b

Year of last assessment: 2024

National site name: Ilhéus / Itabuna

Central coordinates: Latitude: -14.6402, Longitude: -39.3334

System: terrestrial, freshwater

Elevation (m): 0 to 60

Area of KBA (km²): 3253.72427

Protected area coverage (%): 54.62

KBA classification: Global

Legacy site: Yes

Site details

Site description: This site, located in the Atlantic Forest biome, was originally covered by a dense lowland ombrophilous forest with evergreen vegetation and a canopy of up to 50 meters. Studies point to a relative maintenance of canopy-associated species. The climate is warm and humid, with annual rainfall in excess of 2000 mm. The entire region between Itabuna and the Rio de Contas still has extensive forest cover, probably formed mostly by cabrucas and secondary forests.

Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance because it contains the entire known population of Dendropsophus nekronastes which meets A1a, A1e, and B1. Seven bird species meet criteria A1a, A1b, B1, B2, B3b.

Additional biodiversity: Pyrrhura cruentata: there area several records of this species inside this KBA, however, the lacking of specific population censuces we cannot confirm the threshold.

Manageability of the site: Dendropsophus nekronastes occurs on private property which makes it a candidate for a Reserva Particular do Patrimônio Natural (RPPN), a category of conservation unit created by the will of the rural owner without expropriation of land. RPPN permits scientific research activities and visits for tourist, recreational and educational purposes, as provided for in its management plan. This species is being added to the National Action Plan which will become a priority for local government and/or agencies to explore the need for and to generate site based protection to ensure the conservation and persistence of the species. For this site, this will focus on increased levels of protection along with developing adequate management practices. In the late 1990s and first decade of the 2000s, a large conservation movement began in southern Bahia. With strong action by several NGOs, many results were achieved. The work of the IESB and the Instituto Floresta Viva stands out. In recent years there has been a reduction of this local mobilization. However, there are active researchers from the State University of Santa Cruz (UESC) who are recognized as qualified in the field of Ecology. This has ensured the realization of numerous researches on the biodiversity of the region. The state government has created six protected areas in the KBA, of these, the majority are areas of environmental protection, APAs (little restrictive to human use) and only the State Park of Serra do Condurú is fulfilling its real objective effectively. This site has 2 protected areas under the governance of INEMA (Instituto Estatal de Medio Ambiente - el Área de Protección Ambiental de Lagoa Encantada y Río Almada (157.745 ha)) and the southern region of Serra do Conduru Estate Park. Both have managers and a board made up of various governmental and civil society institutions. The site is home to one of the strongest universities in the field of ecology in Brazil (Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz - UESC), which conducts research on different taxa. Finally, there is a strong presence of Floresta Viva, a non-governmental organization that carries out a variety of conservation projects mainly focused on forest restoration and support for forest restoration and support for agroforestry systems. As a tourist region with a traditional traditional cacao production combined with forest protection, the vegetation cover has been the forest, the vegetation cover has been maintained over the decades.

Delineation rationale: This site was identified as an IBA in 2005 and re-delineated in 2022 by BirdLife partners to capture a large area of contiguous Atlantic Forest. The following criteria were taken into consideration: Best habitat for qualifying species, exclusion of agricultural and urban areas, governance and management of the áreas, topography and Relief, clear physical boundaries (rivers, etc), and Protected áreas.

Habitats

Land use: Deforestation still occurs throughout the region. This activity became more common after the cocoa crisis. In the areas where the cabrucas were maintained, there is no regeneration of native vegetation, which in the long term will compromise the maintenance of forest cover. There is also intense subsistence hunting, the illegal capture of birds for breeding in captivity and the illegal removal of palm hearts. There are several camps of landless farmers along the highway that connects Ilhéus to Itabuna.

IUCN Habitat	Coverage %	Habitat detail
Grassland	30
Forest	70	Forest – Subtropical/tropical moist lowland

Threats

Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: The threats to the Ilheus region are hunting (a serious problem specifically for C.blumenbachii), the opening up of areas for rural ranching, selective logging, the intense coastal road network, and the current trend to replace cocoa forests with pasture. Recently the possibility of building a port received strong popular resistance.

Threat level 1	Threat level 2	Threat level 3	Timing
Biological resource use	Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	Intentional use (species being assessed is the target)
Biological resource use	Logging & wood harvesting	Intentional use: subsistence/small scale (species being assessed is the target) [harvest]	Ongoing
Residential & commercial development	Housing & urban areas		Ongoing
Transportation & service corridors	Roads & railroads		Ongoing

Additional information