Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
This is another area of the plateau escarpment east of Asmara, c.9 km south-east of ER007. It lies at a slightly lower altitude on the same escarpment slope, in the region of Nefasit. It is not possible to determine site boundaries, but records from the area (including those from Nefasit, Faghena and Arboroba escarpment) indicate that it qualifies as an IBA. The coordinates used for location of the site are those supplied by D. Zinner for ‘Arboroba escarpment’. Further survey work will be needed to define the exact location and boundaries of a site. The habitat is
Olea africana-dominated evergreen woodland and upland scrub (
Olea,
Euphorbia,
Dodonaea,
Opuntia,
Rosa and occasional
Acacia spp.). Just to the east of the suggested area for an IBA lies Mount Bizen, which rises from the escarpment to 2,463 m.
See Box and Table 2 for key species. Most of the records for this site are relatively recent (from D. Zinner in the late 1990s, which contrasts with many other sites for which most information dates from the middle of the twentieth century). The site has records for four species of the Somali–Masai biome, including
Cisticola bodessa (see Table 2).
Non-bird biodiversity: Baboons Papio hamadryas (LR/nt) are common along the road between Massawa and Asmara, with particularly high densities found in the area in 1997/98 (Zinner et al. 1999).
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
It is possible that this site will be included as part of a new National Park in the Semenawi Bahri area (see ER003), as proposed in the National Environmental Management Plan for Eritrea: Mount Bizen is also proposed as a National Park (EAE 1995, DOE 1999).
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Arboroba escarpment (Eritrea). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/arboroba-escarpment-iba-eritrea on 23/11/2024.
