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The site was identified as important in 1998 because it was regularly supporting significant populations of the species listed below, meeting ('triggering') IBA criteria.

Populations meeting IBA criteria ('trigger species') at the site:

Species	Red List1	Season	Year(s)	Size	IBA criteria
Wattled Crane Bugeranus carunculatus	VU	resident	1996	25 breeding pairs	A1

1. The current IUCN Red List category. The category at the time of the IBA criteria assessment (1998) may differ.

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 1998. The most recent assessment (2015) is shown below.

State (condition of the trigger species' habitats)
Habitat	Quantity (% remaining)	Quality (% carrying capacity)	Result
Wetlands (inland)	moderate (70-90%)	very poor (< 40%)	very unfavourable
Grassland	poor (40-69%)	very poor (< 40%)	very unfavourable
Forest	very poor (< 40%)	poor (40-69%)	very unfavourable

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Agricultural expansion and intensification	happening now	whole area/population (>90%)	very rapid to severe deterioration	very high
Natural system modifications	happening now	majority/most of area/population (50-90%)	very rapid to severe deterioration	very high
Biological resource use	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	moderate to rapid deterioration	high
Human intrusions and disturbance	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	moderate to rapid deterioration	high
Climate change and severe weather	likely in short term (within 4 years)	majority/most of area/population (50-90%)	moderate to rapid deterioration	high
Pollution	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	slow but significant deterioration	medium
Energy production and mining	happening now	small area/few individuals (<10%)	moderate to rapid deterioration	low

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Protected areas	Management plan	Other action	Result
Little/none of site covered (<10%)	No management planning has taken place	Some limited conservation initiatives are in place	negligible

Year	Protected Area	Designation	% overlap with IBA
-	Mtao	State Forest	-
2013	Driefontein Grasslands	Ramsar Site, Wetland of International Importance	96

The Local Conservation Group(s) listed below are working to conserve this IBA.

Name	Year formed
Daviot Site Support Group	2004
Shashe Site Support Group	2004

For more information on BirdLife's work with Local Conservation Groups, please click here.

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Shrubland		68
Artificial/Terrestrial		17
Forest		13
Grassland	Grassland - edaphic, dry, Grassland - edaphic, wet	major (>10)
Wetlands (inland)	Artificial wetlands, Ephemeral pools and wetlands, Rivers & streams	-

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use	% of IBA
agriculture	-
water management	-
other	-

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Driefontein grasslands (Zimbabwe). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/driefontein-grasslands-iba-zimbabwe on 22/11/2024.