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The site was identified as internationally important for bird conservation in 1999 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 List	Season (year/s of estimate)	Size	IBA criteria
Pallid Harrier Circus macrourus	NT	passage (-)	present	A1
Hunter's Cisticola Cisticola hunteri	LC	resident (1999)	present	A2
Aberdare Cisticola Cisticola aberdare	VU	resident (1999)	present	A2
Jackson's Widowbird Euplectes jacksoni	NT	resident (1999)	present	A1, A2
Sharpe's Longclaw Macronyx sharpei	EN	resident (1999)	present	A1, A2

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 1999. The most recent assessment (2023) is shown below.

State (condition of the trigger species' habitats)
Habitat	Quantity (% remaining)	Quality (% carrying capacity)	Result
Artificial/Terrestrial	moderate (70–90%)	moderate (70–90%)	poor
Grassland	moderate (70–90%)	moderate (70–90%)	poor

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Agricultural expansion and intensification	happe­ning now	most of popul­ation/area (50–90%)	rapid decline (>30% over 3 gener­ations)	very high
Residential and commercial development	happe­ning now	most of popul­ation/area (50–90%)	rapid decline (>30% over 3 gener­ations)	very high
Pollution	happe­ning now	most of popul­ation/area (50–90%)	moderate decline (10–30% over 3 gener­ations)	high

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Designation	Planning	Action	Result
Some of area covered (10–49%)	No management plan exists, but the management planning process has begun	Substantive conservation measures are being implemented, but these are not compre­hensive and are limited by resources and capacity	low

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

Name	Year formed
Friends of Kinangop Plateau	1999

For more information on BirdLife's work with Local Conservation Groups, please visit Spotlight on local empowerment.

Habitat	% of IBA	Habitat detail
Artificial/Terrestrial	50	Arable land
Grassland	50	Grassland - montane

Land use	% of IBA
agriculture	100
nature conservation and research	minor (<10)

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Kinangop grasslands (Kenya). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/kinangop-grasslands-iba-kenya on 22/12/2024.