Mount Namuli (6693)
Mozambique, Africa
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: A1a, A1b, A1e, B1, B2
Year of last assessment: 2020
National site name: Monte Namuli
Central coordinates: Latitude: -15.3918, Longitude: 37.0210
System: terrestrial, freshwater
Elevation (m): 2409
Area of KBA (km2): 52.64477
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: Mount Namuli’s proposed KBA covers an area of about 51 km2 in Gurué district of Zambézia province, central-northern Mozambique. It is about 150 km east of Lake Chilwa in Malawi, 160 km north-east of Mt. Mulanje, and 380 km west from the Indian Ocean coast. Summiting at an altitude of 2,419 meters, Mt Namuli is the second highest point in the country, after Mt Binga at 2436 m in the Chimanimani Mountains on the border with Zimbabwe (Timberlake et al., 2009). The Namuli complex forms part of the watershed between the Rio Lúrio and Rio Licungo catchments, and appears to be the largest single such massif in the country. It is essentially a complex of granitic inselbergs or intrusions linked by a high plateau, exposed by millions of years of subsequent erosion and it is entirely covered by Lithic soils (Timberlake et al., 2009). According to MAE (2014) the climate of the Gurué district, where Mt. namuli is located, is humid, moderate mesothermal type. The annual average precipitation is about 1,995.7 mm, with annual average evapotranspiration of 1,226.7 mm. The annual average temperature is 21.9oC, the highest in November (32.5oC) and the lowest in July (12.3oC). The main rivers are the Rio Malema east of the main plateau, which flows to the north to join the Rio Lúrio, and the Rio Licungo to the west of the main massif flowing southwards to the Indian Ocean near Quelimane. The northern flanks of the Namuli massif are drained by the Rio Namparro, which joins the Rio Malema further north (Timberlake et al., 2009). According to Timberlake (2009) the vegetation of the Namuli massif above 1200 m altitude can be broadly categorised into six main groups – forest, woodland, scrub, grassland, thin mats or patches on rocky slopes, and cultivated/heavily disturbed areas. Being the Mozambique’s second highest peak, Namuli presents a beautiful landscape, yet its real value is its unique flora and fauna and the ecosystem services it provides to the estimated at 8,000-12,000 people residing on the mountain, as well as those served by Namuli’s waters far beyond the massif itself (Legado and Lupa, 2017)
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. Mount Namuli falls within the Eastern Afromontane Biodiversity Hotspot (Legado and Lupa 2017). Namuli’s combination of geography and geology has led to the development of diverse habitats, many of which are now rare in the region. Of interest are several types of forest, grasslands and sheer rock faces that are home for several species, either endemics or threatened with extinction or both (Legado and Lupa 2017). Given the high biodiversity importance and uniqueness, Namuli has already been designated as a Key Biodiversity Area in 2012 through Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) and is among the highest-level conservation priority within the region, based on an analysis of irreplaceability and vulnerability (Legado and Lupa 2017). Namuli has also been designated an Important Bird Area (Parker 2001), an Important Plant Area, and an Alliance for Zero Extinction site. All these designations serve to highlight the mountain’s importance for biodiversity not only for Mozambique, but globally. During this assessment, 29 species across plants, butterfly’s, amphibians, reptiles and Mammals taxonomic groups have met the KBA thresholds for this site, namely: 14 plants species: Agelanthus patelii (EN), Alloeochaete namuliensis (VU), Ceropegia nutans (VU), Coleus namuliensis (LC), Faurea racemose (EN), Helixanthera schizocalyx (EN), Isoglossa namuliensis (CR), Memecylon nubigenum (EN) , Pavetta gurueensis (VU), , Plectranthus mandalensis (VU), Sclerochiton hirsutus (VU), Xerophyta kirkii (LC), Xerophyta pseudopinifolia (LC), Crotalaria namuliensis (LC), five butterfly’s: with restricted distribution: Iolaus (Epamera) malaikae, Cymothoe baylissi, Baliochila woodi, , Alaena lamborni, Neocoenyra bioculata), three birds: Namuli Apalis Apalis lynesi (NT) endemic to Namuli, Thyolo Alethe Chamaetylas choloensis (VU), and Dapple-throat Modulatrix orostruthus (VU), three threatened amphibians species: Artholeotis francei (VU), Hyperolius spinigularis (VU), Nothophryne baylissi (EN), four reptiles species: Atheris mabuensis (EN), Rhampholeon tiburyi (EN), Nadzikambia namuli and Rhampholeon namuli, and one mammal, endemic and threatened, Vincent‘s bus squirrel (Paraxerus vincenti, EN), found only in the mid-elevations between 1,250 and 1,800 meters above sea level. Additionally, this site also holds one endemic Crab, Potamonautes namuliensis DD (Legado and Lupa 2017). Including a reptile restricted to high elevations of Mt Namúli the Prince Dwarf Gecko: Lygodactylus regulus (NT), and many others threatened species, particularly birds, including Spotted Ground-thrush Zoothera guttata (EN) (Parker, 2001). This site also may hold Plectranthus guruensis (EN) endemic to Mt Namuli however field surveys are needed to confirm whether this species is still present. Given the uncertainty of its occurrence inside the proposed site it was excluded from this assessment. Although its ecological and biological importance has been recognized for many years, the area is not formally protected (Legado and Lupa 2017; Timberlake et al. 2009). It is one of only a few priorities areas identified as requiring further conservation action in Mozambique’s national biodiversity strategy (2015 – 2025). It is important to highlight that despite its uniqueness; this site is under pressure due to number of threats. For example, the wider landscape surrounding Mount Namuli is largely community land that is heavily populated and intensively cultivated (Legado and Lupa 2017). Subsistence agriculture is the main livelihood activity for the resident communities. In recent decades, increasing numbers of farmers have started to open fields in the high elevation plateau forests. This has been driven mainly by growing human population coupled with declining soil fertility and crop yields in the lower landscape (Legado and Lupa 2017). Based on a recent conservation legislation in Mozambique which allows establishment of Community Conservation Areas, it has been believed that this model would be the way forward to safeguard Namuli’s unique biodiversity but, allowing the community to yield benefits from the Mountain. Therefore, acknowledging the presence of additional KBA trigger elements, will strengthen the KBA status of the Mount Namuli, which in turn may call further attention of the conservation community in the country as well as internationally to address the Mount Namuli for formal conservation.
Delineation rationale: It was not necessary to draw new boundaries. The Proposed KBA followed exactly the boundary of the proposed Community Conservation Area for Namuli created by the Legado Initiative (legadoinitiative.org).
Habitats
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Shrubland | 44 | |
| Grassland | 4 | |
| Forest | 51 |
Threats
| Threat level 1 | Threat level 2 | Threat level 3 | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Livestock farming & ranching | Small-holder grazing, ranching or farming | Ongoing |
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Annual & perennial non-timber crops | Small-holder farming | Ongoing |
| Natural system modifications | Fire & fire suppression | Trend Unknown/Unrecorded | Ongoing |
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Wood & pulp plantations | Scale Unknown/Unrecorded | Ongoing |
| Biological resource use | Gathering terrestrial plants | Intentional use (species being assessed is the target) | Ongoing |
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Wood & pulp plantations | Agro-industry plantations | Ongoing |
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Annual & perennial non-timber crops | Shifting agriculture | Ongoing |
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Annual & perennial non-timber crops | Shifting agriculture | Only in the future |
| Biological resource use | Gathering terrestrial plants | Intentional use (species being assessed is the target) | Unknown |
| Biological resource use | Logging & wood harvesting | Unintentional effects: large scale (species being assessed is not the target) [harvest] | Only in the future |
| Natural system modifications | Fire & fire suppression | Suppression in fire frequency/intensity | Ongoing |
| Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseases | Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases | Named species | Only in the future |
| Natural system modifications | Fire & fire suppression | Increase in fire frequency/intensity | Only in the future |
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Annual & perennial non-timber crops | Agro-industry farming | In the past but now suspended and likely to return |
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Annual & perennial non-timber crops | Small-holder farming | Only in the future |
| Natural system modifications | Fire & fire suppression | Trend Unknown/Unrecorded | In the past but now suspended and likely to return |
| Biological resource use | Logging & wood harvesting | Motivation Unknown/Unrecorded | Ongoing |
| Natural system modifications | Fire & fire suppression | Increase in fire frequency/intensity | Ongoing |
| Biological resource use | Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals | Intentional use (species being assessed is the target) | Ongoing |
| Biological resource use | Logging & wood harvesting | Unintentional effects: subsistence/small scale (species being assessed is not the target) [harvest] | Ongoing |
| Residential & commercial development | Housing & urban areas | Ongoing | |
| Transportation & service corridors | Roads & railroads | Ongoing | |
| Climate change & severe weather | Habitat shifting & alteration | Only in the future | |
| Transportation & service corridors | Roads & railroads | Only in the future | |
| Human intrusions & disturbance | Work & other activities | Ongoing | |
| Climate change & severe weather | Droughts | Ongoing | |
| Climate change & severe weather | Habitat shifting & alteration | Ongoing |