Itwara Forest Reserve (28632)
Uganda, Africa
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: B1
Year of last assessment: 2024
National site name: Itwara Forest Reserve
Central coordinates: Latitude: 0.8000, Longitude: 30.4700
System: terrestrial
Elevation (m): 1220 to 1510
Area of KBA (km2): 86.70409
Protected area coverage (%): 95.25
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: The 87 km2 Itwara Forest Reserve occupies steeply undulating terrain dissected by two rivers, the Wamisu and Sogahi, which drain northwards. Medium altitude moist evergreen forest occurs over most of the reserve dominated by Parinari excelsa, Olea welwitschii, Carapa grandiflora and Aningeria altissima. About 20% of the reserve is grassland also.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: Contains sufficient numbers of the butterfly Telipna sheffieldii to qualify as a global KBA
Additional biodiversity: Provides habitat to 183 bird species, 9 small mammals, 256 trees and shrubs species, 127 butterfly species, 56 large moths species.
Manageability of the site: The site is a Forest Reserve managed by the National Forest Authority of Uganda
Supersedes another site: Boundary submitted uses the officially recognised boundary for the site by the Government of Uganda and differs slightly from the existing shapefile
Other site values: No
Delineation rationale: The boundary follows the boundary of the gazetted central forest reserve as recognised by the government of Uganda
Threats
| Threat level 1 | Threat level 2 | Threat level 3 | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biological resource use | Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals | Ongoing | |
| Biological resource use | Logging & wood harvesting | Unintentional effects: subsistence/small scale (species being assessed is not the target) [harvest] | Ongoing |