Maevatanana - Ambato-Boeny wetlands (6552)
Madagascar, Africa

Site overview

KBA status: confirmed

Year of last assessment: 2014

National site name: Zones humides de Maevatanana - Ambato-Boeny

Central coordinates: Latitude: -16.6780, Longitude: 46.8640

System: freshwater, terrestrial

Elevation (m): 38 to 100

Area of KBA (km²): 233.12991

KBA classification: Global/Regional TBD

Legacy site: Yes

Site details

Site description: The site consists of Lakes Ambanja, Vasily, Belongo and Manapatanana, located near Ambato-Boeni, and of Lakes Amparihibe, Mangabe, Bekopoly, Ambariasara and Bevoatavo, in the area of Maevatanana. The general area consists of a number of very large depressions, mainly covered (near Ambato-Boeni) by seasonal marshes which have been converted to rice-fields and other cultivation, and (near Maevatanana) by marshes and lakes. The main rivers are the Kamoro river, which flows across the Ambato-Boeni area, and the Betsiboka river, which flows west from Ambato-Boeni then south towards Maevatanana and which feeds the south of this area. The vegetation of the lakes includes beds of Cyperus, reedbeds of Phragmites, floating expanses of water-lily Nymphaea, non-native water-hyacinth Eichhornia and water-fern Azolla. On adjacent hills there are bushes of Zizyphus and Strychnos.

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. Thirty-four species are known from the site, of which three are endemic to Madagascar. Haliaeetus vociferoides is recorded infrequently, and Aythya innotata has been recorded in the past. Populations of Ardea humbloti and Tachybaptus pelzelnii are probably quite high, although nesting colonies of larger waterbirds in particular remain to be identified. Non-bird biodiversity: Reptile: Erymnochelys madagascariensis (EN).

Habitats

Land use: agriculture | fisheries/aquaculture

Threats

Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: Over-exploitation of fish-stocks, poaching, and conversion of lake-edge habitat to rice-fields all threaten the ecological integrity of the site.

Additional information