Barren Islands MPA (6557)
Madagascar, Africa
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2014
National site name: AMP des Iles Barren
Central coordinates: Latitude: -18.4280, Longitude: 43.8470
System: marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 10
Area of KBA (km2): 749.29741
Protected area coverage (%): 100.00
KBA classification: Global/Regional TBD
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: This site is located 10–30 km offshore of Maintirano, and includes the Iles Barren archipelago and the island of Nosy Marify. The archipelago comprises seven islets: Mavony, Lava, Andrano, Mangily, Dondosy, Androtra and Maroantaly. Most are covered in savanna with scattered trees and palms Hyphaene, but some are covered by Casuarina woodland. Nosy Mavony (Nosimborona) has very few trees but has a good cover of herbaceous plants such as Ipomoea. Nosy Dondosy, which ends with a rather abrupt cliff at its southern tip, is inhabited by fishermen. According to local information, Nosy Mangily remains uninhabited. Nosy Marify is located 17 km west from Maintirano. A small part of it is covered by Ipomoea.
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 Table 3 for key species. Twenty-one species are known from the site, of which one is endemic to Madagascar. A total of 1,480 pairs of Sterna dougallii were counted during a recent visit, of which 1,400 were on Nosy Mavony, where they were nesting with c.100 Sterna anaethetus. In 1982, there were c.2,000 pairs of Sterna dougallii at the site. Ardea humbloti has been recorded on Nosy Dondosy and Nosy Mangily.
Delineation rationale: 2016-02-19 (BL Secretariat): 1999 IBA only covered the islands (172 ha), this extended offshore in 2012 to cover the predicted foraging area of the trigger species (Sterna dougallii) (222,621 ha), then trimmed in 2014 to match the KBA boundary (based on the recently established MPA).
Habitats
Land use: fisheries/aquaculture | not utilised
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Marine Intertidal | 5 | |
| Savanna | 90 | |
| Marine Coastal/Supratidal | 5 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: The resident fishermen collect the eggs of nesting birds, with the result that very few young birds hatch.
| Threat level 1 | Threat level 2 | Threat level 3 | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biological resource use | Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals | Motivation Unknown/Unrecorded | Ongoing |
| Biological resource use | Logging & wood harvesting | Motivation Unknown/Unrecorded | Ongoing |
| Energy production & mining | Mining & quarrying | Only in the future | |
| Geological events | Earthquakes/tsunamis | Only in the future | |
| Climate change & severe weather | Habitat shifting & alteration | Ongoing |
Additional information
References: Langrand (1990).