Gizo (29785)
Solomon Islands, Australasia
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: A1e
Year of last assessment: 2018
National site name: Gizo
Central coordinates: Latitude: -8.0800, Longitude: 156.8160
System: marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 150
Area of KBA (km2): 128.62285
Protected area coverage (%): 19.71
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: Ghizo is a densely populated island, by Solomon standards, with a substantial number of micronesians who have been relocated from Kiribati in the 1970s.
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: The splendid white-eye, an endangered species is endemic to the island of Ghizo, making the site an AZE. The native habitat for the species, primary rain forest has been largely clearfelled - so the status of the species remains unclear. Information, from visiting birdwatchers, indicates that the bird is still present in reasonable numbers at various locations along the roadside, etc. Non-bird biodiversity: Ghizo has not been well surveyed.
Delineation rationale: 2015-06-10 (BL Secretariat): site area changed from 3000 ha to 12862 ha, following 2012 CEPF Ecosystem Profile.
Habitats
Summary of habitats in KBA: Island is 11km by 5km with a maximum height of 180m asl. Much of the forest has been clearfelled in the 1960s.
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: Logging/removal of remaining primary rain forest.