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Year of most recent IBA criteria assessment: 1998

Populations of IBA trigger species

Species	Current IUCN Red List Category	Season	Year(s) of estimate	Population at site	IBA criteria triggered
Wattled Crane Bugeranus carunculatus	VU	resident	-	10 breeding pairs	A1
Blue Crane Anthropoides paradiseus	VU	resident	-	1 breeding pairs	A1
Ground Woodpecker Geocolaptes olivaceus	NT	resident	-	present	A1
Drakensberg Rockjumper Chaetops aurantius	NT	resident	1998	present	A1
Buff-streaked Chat Campicoloides bifasciatus	LC	resident	1998	present	A1
Yellow-breasted Pipit Hemimacronyx chloris	VU	resident	1998	present	A1

Note: The current IUCN Red List category may differ from the category that was valid at the time of IBA criteria assessment.

For more information about the IBA criteria, please click here

Threats to the site (pressure)
Threat level 1	Threat level 2	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Agricultural expansion and intensification	livestock farming and ranching (includes forest grazing) - nomadic grazing	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	slow but significant deterioration	medium
Biological resource use	hunting & collecting terrestrial animals - intentional use (species being assessed is the target)	likely in long term (beyond 4 years)	some of area/population (10-49%)	slow but significant deterioration	medium
Climate change and severe weather	drought	likely in long term (beyond 4 years)	whole area/population (>90%)	slow but significant deterioration	medium
Climate change and severe weather	storms and floods	likely in long term (beyond 4 years)	whole area/population (>90%)	slow but significant deterioration	medium
Invasive and other problematic species and genes	invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - named species	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	slow but significant deterioration	medium
Natural system modifications	fire & fire suppression - increase in fire frequency/intensity	happening now	majority/most of area/population (50-90%)	slow but significant deterioration	high

Condition of the site (state), by habitat
Habitat	Habitat detail	Reference area (ha)	Actual area (ha)	Habitat quantity (% remaining)	Habitat quality (carrying capacity)	Result
Grassland		0	0	good (> 90%)	good (> 90%)	favourable
Wetlands (inland)	Montane bogs, swamps and mires	0	0	good (> 90%)	good (> 90%)	favourable

Condition of the site (state), by species
Scientific name	Common name	Reference population	Actual population	Units	% of population remaining	Result
Bugeranus carunculatus	Wattled Crane	10	5	breeding pairs	50	unfavourable
Anthropoides paradiseus	Blue Crane	2	2	breeding pairs	100	favourable
Geocolaptes olivaceus	Ground Woodpecker	10	10	breeding pairs	100	not assessed
Chaetops aurantius	Drakensberg Rockjumper	30	30	individuals	100	not assessed
Campicoloides bifasciatus	Buff-streaked Chat	20	20	breeding pairs	100	not assessed
Hemimacronyx chloris	Yellow-breasted Pipit	5	5	breeding pairs	100	not assessed

Conservation actions taken at the site (response)
Protected-area designation	Management planning	Other conservation action	Result
Whole area of site (>90%) covered by appropriate conservation designation	A comprehensive and appropriate management plan exists that aims to maintain or improve the populations of qualifying bird species	The conservation measures needed for the site are being comprehensively and effectively implemented	high

For more information about IBA conservation status, please click here

Protected area (PA)	PA designation	PA area (ha)	Relationship of PA with IBA	Overlap of PA with IBA (ha)
Umngeni Plateau Nature Reserve	Nature Reserve	1,368	protected area is adjacent to site	0
Umgeni Vlei Nature Reserve	Ramsar Site, Wetland of International Importance	959	protected area overlaps with site	0
Umgeni Vlei	Provincial Nature Reserve	957	protected area overlaps with site	957

IUCN Habitat	Habitat detail	Extent (% of site)
Forest	Woodland - mixed	-
Grassland	Grassland - edaphic, wet	-
Wetlands (inland)	Montane bogs, swamps and mires	-

For further information about the IUCN habitat classification, please click here.

Land-use	Extent (% of site)
nature conservation and research	-
water management	-
tourism/recreation	-

For further information about the land-use classification, please click here.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2023) Important Bird Area factsheet: Umgeni Vlei Nature Reserve. Downloaded from http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/7131 on 29/05/2023.