Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
The site is located to the east of the Imatong mountains (site SD020) on the Ugandan border, and is contiguous with the Kidepo Valley National Park in Uganda (IBA UG030). It includes the Dongotona mountains to the west and the southern part of the Didinga hills to the east, between which lies the Kidepo Game Reserve, in the valleys of the Kidepo and the Omoro rivers, and which extends north to the Torit–Kapoeta road. The Game Reserve consists principally of
Acacia short-grass savanna with low ranges of rocky, scrub-covered hills, while the Dongatona mountains and Didinga hills support areas of forest and montane shrubland similar in composition to those of the Imatong mountains but much smaller in area.
See Box and Table 2 for key species. In addition,
Circus macrourus has been recorded at this site, and one species characteristic of the Sahel biome (A03) and three of the Guinea–Congo Forests biome (A05) are also believed to occur (see Table 2).
Non-bird biodiversity: The following mammals of global conservation concern occur, or used to do so: Acinonyx jubatus (VU), Loxodonta africana (EN) and Tragelaphus imberbis (LR/cd).
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The area is heavily populated by the Didinga and other cattle-owning people, and consequently grazing pressure is high. Hunting pressure is also high. It has been reported that the Game Reserve is now full of human settlements. Plans for gold-mining in the Didinga hills are a potential threat.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Kidepo (South Sudan). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/kidepo-iba-south-sudan on 22/12/2024.
