Lendu Plateau (6063)
Congo, The Democratic Republic of the, Africa

Site overview

KBA status: confirmed

Global KBA criteria: A1e, B2

Year of last assessment: 2018

National site name: Lendu Plateau

Central coordinates: Latitude: 2.0650, Longitude: 30.7020

System: terrestrial

Elevation (m): 1700 to 2455

Area of KBA (km²): 4104.72233

KBA classification: Global

Legacy site: Yes

Site details

Site description: The Lendu plateau is a large area of high ground on the west side of Lake Albert in north-eastern DR Congo, bordered in the north by the Ugandan frontier. The altitude of the plateau varies between 1,700 m and 2,000 m rising, along its eastern edge, to some cone-shaped mountains, the highest of which is Mount Aboro (2,455 m). The plateau is mainly grassy, with relatively few trees except Erythrina sp. Formerly, some patches of montane forest occurred above 1,500 m and on the higher mountains, but these have mostly been destroyed. The forest near Djugu, in the valley of the Nizi river, is perhaps the most important remaining site.

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: See Box and Tables 2 and 3 for key species. In addition, Crex crex has been recorded. Muscicapa lendu was originally discovered in montane forest near Djugu, where it may still occur. Sylvietta chapini is only known from this site. Other species of interest include Chlorocichla prigoginei (not uncommon; known only from one other site) and Terpsiphone bedfordi, a restricted-range species of the Eastern DR Congo lowlands EBA (see Table 2). Six species of the Sudan–Guinea Savanna biome, 15 of the Guinea–Congo Forests biome and one of the Lake Victoria Basin biome have also been recorded (see Table 3). Non-bird biodiversity: The highland area is densely settled and little mammal fauna remains. The lowland forest transition probably still contains some areas with important populations of primates and ungulates.

Delineation rationale: 2011-12-06 (BL Secretariat): site extent increased from 22,500 ha to 410,000 ha, based on GIS polygon (rounded to nearest 10%), as part of CEPF East Afromontane Ecosystem Profiling process.

Habitats

Land use: agriculture

IUCN Habitat	Coverage %	Habitat detail
Savanna	20
Grassland	36
Artificial - Terrestrial	1
Forest	41

Threats

Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: There is no legal protection. The status of forests in the area is unknown. A survey is urgently needed to determine what conservation measures are needed.

Additional information