Changelane river gorge (6686)
Mozambique, Africa

Site overview

KBA status: confirmed

Global KBA criteria: A1c

Year of last assessment: 2001

National site name: Changelane river gorge

Central coordinates: Latitude: -26.3197, Longitude: 32.1055

System: terrestrial

Elevation (m): 200 to 500

Area of KBA (km²): 46.61971

KBA classification: Global

Legacy site: Yes

Site details

Site description: The site lies within the Libombo mountain range, a rhyolite ridge running along the frontier between Mozambique and Swaziland. It includes steep hillsides, a gorge through which the Changelane river flows and a large cliff-face at the joint confluence of the streams Timbogoloene and Mizinandjovo with the Changelane river. The vegetation consists of coastal forest (on the steeper slopes), woodland and savanna. The area is inhabited by itinerant charcoal manufacturers in temporary dwellings, and by subsistence farmers in fewer than 10 more permanent homesteads.

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.

Additional biodiversity: See Box and Tables 2 and 3 for key species. A colony of 10–15 pairs of the globally threatened Gyps coprotheres breeds on the one substantial cliff-face in the Changelane river gorge. Foraging opportunities for the species in this part of Mozambique are severely limited, due to the lack of game and livestock. The birds forage mostly in the nearby Mlawula/Hlane wildlife complex in Swaziland. The proposed reintroduction of game into the Maputo Special Reserve (IBA MZ001) would provide additional foraging opportunities for the species within Mozambique. The site holds three species of the Zambezian biome and two of the Afromontane Highlands biome (Table 3). Non-bird biodiversity: None known to BirdLife International. Larger mammals which used to occur in the area have been exterminated by hunting.

Delineation rationale: 2021-03-23 (BL Secretariat): Mozambique KBA National Coordination Group has increased the site area from 4000 ha to 5827 ha.

Habitats

Land use: agriculture

IUCN Habitat	Coverage %	Habitat detail
Forest	100

Threats

Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: The site is unprotected. Body parts of Gyps vultures are widely used in traditional medicine. The breeding site of Gyps coprotheres is potentially threatened by hunters seeking carcasses of the birds for this trade. The continued depletion of forests by charcoal manufacturers poses a threat to forest-dwelling birds. A proposal has been made by residents of the area to the Department of Wildlife for tourism development, based on birdwatching.

Additional information