Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
Kounounkan Forest Reserve, also known as Kamalayah, is located 90 km south-east of Conakry, north of the town of Moussaya, on the southern tip of the Fouta Djalon. The forest sits on a massif of Devonian sandstone, rising to 1,094 m above the coastal plain. The massif is dissected into several steep-sided plateaux. The vegetation is mainly old-growth (more than 150 years) secondary, closed canopy, semi-evergreen rainforest, mostly confined to the ravines. Representative tree species include
Afzelia africana,
Aningeria altissima,
Cola gigantea and
Morus mesozygia. Savanna woodland occurs on the ridge tops with areas of farmbush on the lower slopes.
See Box and Tables 2 and 3 for key species. To date 134 species have been recorded from Kounounkan.
Non-bird biodiversity: The primates Cercopithecus diana (VU) and Pan troglodytes (EN) are known to occur.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The reserve was gazetted in 1994. Firewood-collection is considered to be the most significant threat to the remaining area of forest. Other threats include agricultural encroachment and uncontrolled bush fires. Hunting pressure appears to be relatively low.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Kounounkan (Guinea). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/kounounkan-iba-guinea on 23/11/2024.
