Cap Saint André forest and wetlands (6549)
Madagascar, Africa

Site overview

KBA status: confirmed

Year of last assessment: 2014

National site name: Forêt et zones humides de Cap Saint André

Central coordinates: Latitude: -16.2960, Longitude: 44.6250

System: marine, terrestrial

Elevation (m): 0 to 40

Area of KBA (km²): 1102.61424

KBA classification: Global/Regional TBD

Legacy site: Yes

Site details

Site description: The site is located about 70 km north-east of Besalampy. The relief is low and soils are sandy. Habitats include forest, lakes and mangrove. The forest area is composed of dense, dry deciduous forest with a high, closed canopy, dominated by Dalbergia and bordered, in the east, by savanna. The savanna is wooded with palms Bismarckia, screw-pine Pandanus, Albizia and tamarind Tamarindus. Lake-margin vegetation includes water-lilies (Nymphaeaceae), legumes (Leguminosae), sedges (Cyperaceae), screw-pines (Pandanaceae) and grasses (Gramineae). The mangrove is dominated by trees of Rhizophora, Avicennia, Sonneratia and Ceriops.

Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance because it meets one or more previously established criteria and thresholds for identifying sites of biodiversity importance (including Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas, Alliance for Zero Extinction sites, and Key Biodiversity Areas) KBA identified in the CEPF Ecosystem Profile of the Madagascar and Indian Ocean Islands Hotspot (2014). Taxonomy, nomenclature and threat status follow the 2013 IUCN Red List.

Additional biodiversity: See Box and Tables 2 and 3 for key species. Seventy-eight species are known from the site, of which 27 are endemic to Madagascar. The avifauna is a mixture of forest birds and waterbirds. Non-bird biodiversity: Lemur: Hapalemur griseus occidentalis (VU). Reptile: Boa madagascariensis (VU).

Habitats

Land use: agriculture | forestry

Threats

Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: Threats include deforestation (5% of the forest has already been cut), conversion to rice-fields of wetlands or their margins, collection of edible tubers and wild honey, and hunting.

Additional information