Príncipe forests (6884)
São Tomé e Príncipe, Africa
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: A1e, B2
Year of last assessment: 2018
National site name: Príncipe forests
Central coordinates: Latitude: 1.5833, Longitude: 7.3667
System: freshwater, marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 948
Area of KBA (km2): 56.69867
Protected area coverage (%): 92.82
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: The site covers the southern third of Príncipe and consists mainly of lowland evergreen forest, from sea-level to the summit of Pico do Príncipe at 948 m. Four other peaks higher than 500 m are included: Mesa (537 m), Pico Papagaio (680 m), Carriote (839 m) and Pico Mencorne (921 m). Deep valleys have been scoured into the whole area, producing extremely rugged terrain and, in places, the ground is littered with sharp-edged stones and rocks. There is, however, a relatively flat area in the south-west. The area is poorly known botanically. Old secondary growth occurs on the northern and eastern fringes of the massif.
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. Alliance for Zero Extinction (2018): site confirmed as an AZE site during the AZE project (2015-2018). Taxonomy, nomenclature and Red List category follow the IUCN 2016 Red List.
Additional biodiversity: See Box and Table 2 for key species. A total of 28 species have been recorded, of which 23 are forest residents. Among these are four species of global conservation concern and the seven species endemic to Príncipe: Alcedo nais, Horizorhinus dohrni, Nectarinia hartlaubii, Speirops leucophaeus, Ploceus princeps, Lamprotornis ornatus and Dicrurus modestus. Others present in these forests include all those considered to be subspecies endemic to Príncipe: Bostrychia olivacea rothschildi, Columba larvata principalis, Treron calva virescens, Halcyon malimbica dryas, Turdus olivaceofuscus xanthorhynchus, Zosterops ficedulinus ficedulinus and Serinus rufobrunneus rufobrunneus. The status of B. o. rothschildi is unclear, but it seems to be very rare. In contrast to São Tomé, the endemic subspecies of T. olivaceofuscus and Z. ficedulinus do not occur in secondary growth or plantations or are, at least, rare in such habitats. Non-bird biodiversity: The site holds the skink Feylinia polylepis, the burrowing snake Typhlops elegans and the frog Leptoptelis palmatus, all endemic to Príncipe, as well as an endemic subspecies of the shrew Crocidura poensis.
Delineation rationale: 2017-07-03 (BL Secretariat): site area increased from 5000 ha (IBA of 2001) to 5670 ha, to match the PA designated in 2006.
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: The area has been proposed as a Zona Ecologica, but no protection has yet been given. Habitat destruction in the area is minimal; the forests are mainly used for the collection of young of the parrot Psittacus erithacus for commercial purposes. A study to evaluate the impact of this trade is under way. Recent plans to develop an Economic Free Trade Zone on the west coast, a concession which would have covered over a third of the island, have now been dropped. Interest remains, however, in the possibility of a revised proposal. Any such development would prompt serious concerns about conservation of the adjacent forest and, indeed, the region.