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Site description (2008 baseline):
Site location and context
Guanahacabibes IBA is located in the municipality of Sandino,
Pinar del Río province, in westernmost Cuba. It comprises the
forested, flat limestone plain of the Guanahacabibes peninsula,
itself formed by the peninsulas of Cabo de San Antonio and
Corrientes. Cliffs rise to 19 m on the south coast from where
the land slopes gently across the peninsula down to sea level
on the north coast. A range of limestone formations, including
caves, are found within the IBA. The Cueva la Barca, contains
a rich, nationally important cave biota. The town of La Bajada
(1,146 inhabitants) is located within the IBA.
This IBA supports 190 bird species (31 of which are biomerestricted
species), including 11 Cuban endemics and nine
globally threatened species of which the Blue-headed Quail
Dove
Starnoenas cyanocephala, Giant Kingbird
Tyrannus
cubensis and Gundlach’s Hawk
Accipiter gundlachi are all
Endangered. The Cuban EBA restricted-range Yellow-headed
Warbler
Teretistris fernandinae and Red-shouldered Blackbird
Agelaius assimilis both occur. Guanahacabibes forms part of
the migratory corridor of the Mississippi flyway, and is a
bottleneck site during fall migration. Bird capture rates during
migration mist-netting studies have been higher in this IBA
than anywhere else in Cuba.
Non-bird biodiversity: The Endangered (and endemic) frog Eleutherodactylus
guanahacabibes occurs, as do other endemic reptiles including
Anolis quadriocellifer and Antillophis andreai peninsulae. A
number of endemic rodents and bats occur, and 14 plant
species are confined to the IBA.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
In 1959, the areas of El Veral and Cabo Corrientes within the
Guanahacabibes IBA were designated as natural reserves, and
as strict conservation areas in 1963. The whole IBA was
declared a biosphere reserve in 1987, within which the core
zone, Guanahacabibes National Park, was approved by the
government in 2001. Residents of La Bajada work mainly in
forestry, apiculture, cattle farming, and cultivation of tobacco
and other crops. Some are employed in a nearby scuba-diving
centre. Other land uses include selective logging and pig
foraging. Scientific research is the only activity conducted in
the core zone. Threats to the IBA include ecosystem
degradation, invasive species, tourism-related development
and disturbance. Fishing, hunting and harvesting of natural
resources also exert pressure on the ecosystem.
Authors: HIRAM GONZÁLEZ, ALINA PÉREZ, ALEJANDRO LLANES, ENEIDER PÉREZ
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Guanahacabibes (Cuba). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/guanahacabibes-iba-cuba on 22/12/2024.
