Current view: Text account
Site description (2007 baseline):
Site location and context
The area around the estuary of the Irabere River is dominated by a mixture of degraded semi-evergreen forest on alluvium, agricultural land and riparian Casuarina forest. Extensive tropical dry forest and moist deciduous forest extends east from the river to
about 20 km inland, with scattered agricultural land particularly in the lands of the isolated Tirilolo village.
Eleven restricted-range species and the Critically Endangered Yellow-crested Cockatoo were recorded in this IBA during surveys conducted in 2003 by BirdLife International and the Timor-Leste government around the Irabere estuary, but the extensive dry forest is yet to covered by biological assessments and this IBA was considered to be a priority for further field survey work (Trainor et al. 2004).
The area around the estuary of the Irabere River is dominated by a mixture of degraded semi-evergreen forest on alluvium, agricultural land and riparian Casuarina forest. Extensive tropical dry forest and moist deciduous forest extends east from the river to
about 20 km inland, with scattered agricultural land particularly in the lands of the isolated Tirilolo village.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Illegal timber harvesting is likely to be a problem in this isolated area, and the capture of flying-foxes Pteropus spp. at a large colony is probably affecting the numbers of these bats.
This IBA has not previously been identified as a site of significant conservation value, although it was recognised as “Unclassified Forest” by RePPProT (1989).
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Irabere - Iliomar (Timor-Leste). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/irabere--iliomar-iba-timor-leste on 22/11/2024.
