Choa Mountains (49169)
Mozambique, Africa
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: A1b
Year of last assessment: 2020
National site name: Serra Choa
Central coordinates: Latitude: -18.0306, Longitude: 33.0368
System: terrestrial
Elevation (m): 1800
Area of KBA (km2): 515.75392
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: No
Site details
Site description: The Proposed KBA falls on Serra Choa (Choa Mountains) and covers an area of about 515.754 km2. The Choa Mountains are situated at the northern end of the Eastern Highlands (Cizek, 2009), and lie west of Catandica town in the Báruè District, Manica Province, western-central Mozambique (Cizek, 2009 and MAE, 2005).The eastern slope of the Choa mountains rises steeply from the surrounding plateau, forming a 20 km long escarpment which runs on a north-south axis to the northwest of Catandica (Cizek, 2009). Only small areas of the range exceed 1500 m elevation and the highest point is over 1800 m (Cizek, 2009). The Choa Highlands are similar to the Vumba Highlands in that, although they do not reache the heights of the Nyanga Highlands, which peak at Mt Nyangani, 2591.8 m, they support habitats and species which generally occur at high altitudes (Cizek, 2009). According to the Köppen climate classification, the Choa Mountains have a tropical humid climate (MAE, 2005). The rainy season is mainly between November and April, varying significantly in quantity and distribution, from 1000 to 1400 mm in the plateau region, and from 1300 to 1700 mm in the mountainous region (MAE, 2005). The Choa mountains are mostly of miombo woodland (Cizek, 2009). In similar manner to the Vumba Highlands, the eastern slopes of Choa Mountains intercept the moist air that moves in from the Mozambique Channel (Indian ocean) across the Manica Platform, where it meets the highlands and is forced to rise, creating orographic rainfall (Cizek, 2009). This rainfall sustains lush montane grasslands with pockets of montane evergreen forest at higher elevations. On the eastern slopes, montane grasslands interspersed with protea shrubs are prevalent (Cizek, 2009). In terms of hydrology, the western slopes of the mountains are drained by the Gairezi River, which flows northwards towards the Zambezi River from its source in the Nyanga Mountains. The eastern slopes of the mountains are drained by the Nhazonia River (also known as the Nyadzonya River), a tributary of the Pungwe River (Cizek, 2009; MAE, 2005).
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. Serra Choa is regarded as an important site particularly for birds and it is believed to be an appropriate locality to learn about ecological processes in the Eastern Highlands (Cizek, 2009). Serra Choa is home to the Blue Swallow Hirundo atrocaerulea, a Vulnerable species under the IUCN Red List of threatened species. The Mozambique and Malawi Blue Swallow survey (Little, 2013), estimated a total of 10-15 breeding pairs of Blue Swallows at this site, representing about 2% of their global mature population, estimated in 1000-1499 mature individuals (IUCN,2019). In addition, the surveys on Birds of the Serra Choa by Cizek (2009), recorded over 70 bird species at this site, including new records for Mozambique and new localities for Eastern Highlands endemic birds. However, according to Little (2013) this site is largely disturbed with human habitation, crop agriculture, macadamia nut orchards and cattle grazing along with frequent intensive burning. There is, therefore, a pressing need to revert the current scenario in order to ensure biodiversity persistence. Recognizing Serra Choa as a Key Biodiversity Area would hopefully call attention of the conservation body at the national and international levels to put measures in place which in turn, would ensure persistence of blue swallow and many other bird species that occur at this site.
Delineation rationale: The boundary was delineated based on the habitat requirements of Blue Swallow the one trigger species. The suggestion is that Blue Swallow is likely to breed in any suitable habitat above 1200m therefore the delineation process was mainly based on this altitude . However, the western part, was extended to reach the Mozambique-Zimbabwe border.
Habitats
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Grassland | 20 | |
| Forest | 30 | |
| Rocky Areas(e.g., inland cliffs, mountain peaks) | 40 |
Threats
| Threat level 1 | Threat level 2 | Threat level 3 | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural system modifications | Dams & water management/use | Abstraction of surface water (unknown use) | Ongoing |
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Livestock farming & ranching | Small-holder grazing, ranching or farming | Ongoing |
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Wood & pulp plantations | Agro-industry plantations | Ongoing |
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Annual & perennial non-timber crops | Small-holder farming | Ongoing |
| Biological resource use | Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals | Intentional use (species being assessed is the target) | Ongoing |
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Annual & perennial non-timber crops | Agro-industry farming | Ongoing |
| Pollution | Air-borne pollutants | Type Unknown/Unrecorded | Unknown |
| Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseases | Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases | Unspecified species | Ongoing |
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Livestock farming & ranching | Agro-industry grazing, ranching or farming | Ongoing |
| Natural system modifications | Fire & fire suppression | Trend Unknown/Unrecorded | Ongoing |
| Human intrusions & disturbance | Recreational activities | Ongoing | |
| Energy production & mining | Mining & quarrying | Only in the future | |
| Climate change & severe weather | Other impacts | Only in the future | |
| Residential & commercial development | Commercial & industrial areas | Ongoing |