Manongarivo Special Reserve and extension (6534)
Madagascar, Africa

Site overview

KBA status: confirmed

Global KBA criteria: A1e

Year of last assessment: 2018

National site name: Réserve Spéciale de Manongarivo et extension

Central coordinates: Latitude: -14.0120, Longitude: 48.3780

System: freshwater, terrestrial

Elevation (m): 57 to 1876

Area of KBA (km²): 935.56384

Protected area coverage (%): 52.39

KBA classification: Global

Legacy site: Yes

Site details

Site description: This site, a mountainous massif, is located about 60 km south of Ambanja. Steep slopes (25–55°) cover about half of its area. Valleys are narrow and littered with large boulders. The headwaters of the Manongarivo river, and of tributaries of the Sambirano, Djangoa and Ambahatra rivers, all lie within the reserve, which functions as a hydrological reservoir for the surrounding area. The vegetation is composed of low- and mid-altitude dense humid forest. Low-altitude 127>dry-transitional forest covers 18% of the reserve, and is dominated by trees of Canarium, Symphonia (and other species of Guttiferae), Terminalia, Ravensara and species of Sapotaceae, with smaller trees such as Phyllarthron in the subcanopy. The understorey is dominated by large lianas (e.g. Landolphia spp.) and palms (e.g. Dypsis). Mid- and higher-altitude forest covers 28% of the site, extending to the summit of the mountain at 1,876 m; epiphytes are common (Rhipsalis, Platycerium, Drymaria, Asplenium, Bulbophyllum, Angraecum) and there are also rare trees such as Calliandra kony and Takhtajania perrieri.

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. Sixty species are known from the site, of which 30 are endemic to Madagascar. However, knowledge of the bird fauna is incomplete and recent inventories are likely to increase these figures. Philepitta schlegeli and Falculea palliata, species characteristic of the West Malagasy biome, are present at low altitudes at the site. Species of global conservation concern include Lophotibis cristata. Non-bird biodiversity: Lemurs: Phaner furcifer parienti (VU), Eulemur macaco (VU), Hapalemur griseus occidentalis (VU), Lepilemur dorsalis (VU), Daubentonia madagascariensis (EN). Carnivore: Cryptoprocta ferox (VU). Reptiles: Boa manditra (VU), B. madagascariensis (VU). Butterfly: Papilio grosesmithi (nt).

Delineation rationale: 2016-02-25 (BL Secretariat): this 1999 IBA/PA (35,250 ha) has been expanded to 41,598 ha, following its merger with the surrounding 2006 KBA 'Manongarivo Future SAPM' (SitRecID 22477; 51,736 ha), as part of the KBA update within the 2014 CEPF Ecosystem Profiling process; since the habitat and trigger species are identical across both of these sites, the 1999 site has just been expanded, rather than creating a new site in WBDB.

Habitats

Land use: agriculture | forestry | nature conservation and research | water management

IUCN Habitat	Coverage %	Habitat detail
Forest	88
Artificial - Terrestrial	5
Unknown	5

Threats

Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: The main threat to the site is slash-and-burn cultivation. The forest is also illegally exploited for firewood and construction wood, and this is altering the hydrology of the region. At least 75 plant species in the reserve are used medicinally by local people. Lemurs, carnivores and tenrecs are hunted, and cattle-grazing is increasing within the reserve.

Threat level 1	Threat level 2	Threat level 3	Timing
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops	Scale Unknown/Unrecorded	Ongoing
Biological resource use	Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	Motivation Unknown/Unrecorded	Ongoing
Biological resource use	Logging & wood harvesting	Motivation Unknown/Unrecorded	Ongoing

Additional information