Castro Marim (378)
Portugal, Europe
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2002
National site name: Castro Marim
Central coordinates: Latitude: 37.2000, Longitude: -7.4333
System: marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 42
Area of KBA (km2): 21.46147
Protected area coverage (%): 98.66
KBA classification: Regional
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: The Portuguese side of the Guadiana estuary, at the country's south-east corner. There is an extensive area of saltpans and of claimed land (used for cattle and sheep-grazing) that was formerly saltmarsh.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that was identified using previously established criteria and thresholds for the identification of Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) and for which available data indicate that it does not meet global KBA criteria and thresholds set out in the Global Standard.
Additional biodiversity: Important numbers of breeding, wintering and migrating waterbirds use this site, as do some steppic species such as Tetrax tetrax, Burhinus oedicnemus, Glareola prantincola and Melanocorypha calandra. This is the only portuguese site where Calandrella rufescens breeds. Untill 1999 Falco naumanni bred at this site.
Habitats
Land use: agriculture | fisheries/aquaculture | nature conservation and research | tourism/recreation | water management
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Artificial - Terrestrial | 25 | |
| Marine Coastal/Supratidal | 25 | |
| Marine Intertidal | 25 | |
| Marine Neritic | 25 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: There is a proposal of management plan for Natural Reserve but it was not disccussed in public. Like other litoral sites in the area, Castro Marim suffers high disturbance from tourism and urbanization. Two SPEA conservation projects were fisnished in 2002. One aboutwintering waders population in the saltmarshes, and other about secondary saltmarshes populations. These projects deffined management measures for bird conservation in the area.
| Threat level 1 | Threat level 2 | Threat level 3 | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transportation & service corridors | Utility & service lines | Ongoing |
Additional information
References: Farinha & Trinidade (1994), Mendes (1995), Costa & Rufino (1997), Leitão & Farinha (1998), Dias (1999), Costa et al. (2000), Leitão (2002a, 2002b).