APAPIS (Primeiras and Segundas Environmental Protection Area) (6695)
Mozambique, Africa

Site overview

KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: A1a, B1
Year of last assessment: 2020
National site name: APAPIS (Área de Proteção Ambiental das Ilhas Primeiras e Segundas)
Central coordinates: Latitude: -16.7164, Longitude: 39.2208
System: terrestrial
Area of KBA (km2): 2506.919916
Protected area coverage (%): 100.00
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes

Site details

Site description: The proposed KBA covers an area of approximately 2511.945 km2 in the Archipelago of the Primeiras and Segundas Islands. The archipelago of the Primeiras and Segundas Islands is a complex formed by two groups of islands, with five islands each, forming a string parallel to the coast of Mozambique between latitudes 16 ° 12’S and 17 ° 17’S (ANAC 2015). This site is within an area regarded as Area for Environmental Protection (Área de Protecção Ambiental = APA) which is a conservation category where a sustainable use of resources is allowed. This site is therefore known as Area for Environmental Protection of the Primeiras and Segundas Islands (Área de Protecção Ambiental das Ilhas Primeiras e Segundas = APAIPS). The southernmost group of islands, regarded as the Primeiras Islands, is in the Zambezia Province and the northernmost group, the Segundas Islands, is in Nampula Province, and both form an almost continuous archipelago between the towns of Pebane and Angoche in northern-east Mozambique (Salm 1983; Schleyer and Celliers 2000). The coastal area is characterized by dune systems, sandy beaches and the rare miombo forest. This section is part of the Zanzibar-Inhambane Coastal Forest Mosaic with high biodiversity value (Tabor et al. 2010) and hosts wetlands and shrublands (Impacto 2012) with a recognized regional importance (Horril 2001). The area is characterized by a tropical semi-humid climate with a wet season from mid-November through March and a dry season from April to mid-November. The soils are generally sandy and particularly heaviest in the lowest coastal areas, have a reduced water-holding capacity, poor fertility and low cohesion, and therefore are prone to erosion, especially once the vegetation has been cleared, therefore with low-to-moderate potential for agriculture (Impacto 2012). The proposed site includes dunes habitat, mangrove forest and terrestrial vegetation such as shrubs and miombo forest.
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. The Primeiras and Segundas Islands are globally important marine biodiversity area, containing one of the most abundant and diverse hard and soft coral communities in Mozambique, extensive seagrass beds, intact mangrove forests covering eight species of mangroves and a deep cold water upwelling rich in nutrients that support the local important fisheries (Salm 1983; Schleyer and Celliers 2000, Pereira and Videira, 2007). Being within the Zanzibar-Inhambane biogeographical region, the Primeiras and Segundas Islands are also important for terrestrial biodiversity. The Zanzibar-Inhambane coastal forest mosaic is home for over 4,500 plant species including 1,050 plant genera of which more than 1,300 are endemic plant species and at least 33 are endemic plant genera (Tabor et al. 2010). Moreover, Tabor et al. (2010) suggest that out of the 1,300 endemic plants, over 500 are restricted to the coastal forest habitat type. It was through the exceptional flora elements that the Archipelago of the Primeiras and Segundas Islands triggered KBA status. This site is home to Icuria dunensis, a strict endemic plant species to Mozambique (Darbyshire et al. 2019) which has been assessed as Endangered under the IUCN Red List of threatened species. The species is known to occur from Nacala in Nampula Province southward to Pebane in Zambezia Province covering about 360 km (Darbyshire et al. 2019). The IUCN assessment has highlighted that habitat destruction throughout the species distribution is the main threat. Some studies, for example (Imapcto 2012, USAID-Mozambique 2013), have highlighted that areas such as Angoche and the surrounding peninsula holds nearly 30,000 people. Consequently, increasing the pressure to natural coastal areas to fulfill human’s basic needs including housing and small-scale food production. Alves et al. (2014) and Darbyshire et al. (2019) have suggested that this area is thought to hold one of the two subpopulations for Brachystegia oblonga, a Critically Endangered species and the Acanthaceae Blepharis dunensis, an Endangered species which the last record was just over 50 years ago. Both species are strict endemic to Mozambique, but it is highly likely that the Brachystegia oblonga subpopulation in this area may have gone extinct as a result of habitat loss. Given the overall biodiversity importance of Primeiras and Segundas Islands across flora and fauna, which falls within an area for environmental protection (APAIPS), and the presence of Icuria dunensis which triggered KBA thresholds, we strongly believe that attaining KBA status would be highly beneficial to this area. The KBA status highlights the importance of this sites in contributing to the persistence of biodiversity worldwide.
Delineation rationale: In General, it was not necessary to draw new boundaries. The Proposed KBA follows exactly the original limits of the land /coastal section of the Environmental Protection Area of the Archipelago of the Primeiras e Segundas Islands. The marine section where the islands are has been excluded, given that the trigger species do not occur there.

Habitats

IUCN HabitatCoverage %Habitat detail
Grassland2
Shrubland2
Forest95

Threats

Threat level 1Threat level 2Threat level 3Timing
Agriculture & aquacultureAnnual & perennial non-timber cropsScale Unknown/UnrecordedOngoing
Energy production & miningMining & quarryingOngoing
Residential & commercial developmentHousing & urban areasOngoing