Candelaria - Campur (20366)
Guatemala, Central America
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: B1
Year of last assessment: 2007
National site name: Candelaria - Campur
Central coordinates: Latitude: 15.8013, Longitude: -90.0703
System: terrestrial
Elevation (m): 100 to 1900
Area of KBA (km2): 1866.77681
Protected area coverage (%): 0.00
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: Candelaria-Campur includes humid broadleaf forests in lowlands and foothills on the Guatemalan Atlantic slope, ranging in elevation from 100 to 1900 m.
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: Few ornithological data are available for this IBA. Based on a rapid assessment (APROBA SANK 2006) and unpublished data (K. Eisermann & C. Avendaño, pers. comm.) the site is important for biome-restricted species of the Gulf Caribbean Slope. Because the site includes also cloud forest, it is expected to be important for species restricted to the Central American Highlands.
Other site values: The land privately and communal owned.
Habitats
Summary of habitats in KBA: Humid evergreen broadleaf forest has been reduced to 32% of the IBA. Small scale (family and small enterprises) agriculture covers 66% of the IBA: corn fields 13%, cardamom and coffee plantations 7%, cattle farming 2%, secondary growth scrub 45% (MAGA 2006).
Land use: agriculture (64%) | energy production and mining (1%) | forestry | hunting | not utilised | rangeland/pastureland (2%) | urban/industrial/transport (1%) | water management
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Wetlands(Inland) | 1 | |
| Shrubland | 45 | |
| Artificial - Terrestrial | 22 | |
| Grassland | 1 | |
| Forest | 32 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: Slash-and-burn agriculture is common in the area, threatening the forest by fires and conversion to agricultural land.
Additional information
References: APROBA SANK. 2006. Informe Final de la Consultoría: Caracterización Ecológica de la Sierra de Chinajá, Chisec, Alta Verapaz. APROBA SANK, Chisec. (Unpublished report) CONAP. 2007. Lista de áreas protegidas inscritas en el SIGAP. Consejo Nacional de Áreas Protegidas (CONAP), Guatemala. (Database accessed in June 2007) MAGA. 2006. Mapa de cobertura vegetal y uso de la tierra a escala 1:50,000 de la República de Guatemala, Año 2003 (Incluye 5 cultivos perennes actualizados al año 2005). Memoria técnica y descripción de resultados. Ministerio de Agricultura Ganadería y Alimentación –MAGA– / Unidad de Planificación Geográfica y Gestión de Riesgo –UPGGR–, Guatemala Ciudad, Guatemala.
Contributors: PROEVAL RAXMU Bird Monitoring Program provided unpublished ornithological data. Input of unpublished data and suggestions for the delimitation of the IBA was provided during a workshop in Cobán, in August 2006, by representatives of Consejo Nacional de Areas Protegidas (CONAP) - Las Verapaces, Asociación de Proyectos Evaluados Raxmu (PROEVAL RAXMU), Peace Corps, Cooperativa Sanimtaca, Cooperativa Samac, and Comité Central Menotita. This first assessment of IBAs in Guatemala was conducted by Sociedad Guatemalteca de Ornitología and BirdLife International in the Americas.