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The site was identified as important in 2001 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 List1	Season	Year(s)	Size	IBA criteria
Pale-billed Hornbill Lophoceros pallidirostris	LC	resident	1999	present	A3
Böhm's Bee-eater Merops boehmi	LC	resident	1999	present	A3
Racquet-tailed Roller Coracias spatulatus	LC	resident	1999	present	A3
Brown-breasted Barbet Pogonornis melanopterus	LC	resident	1999	present	A3
Dickinson's Kestrel Falco dickinsoni	LC	resident	1999	present	A3
Brown-headed Parrot Poicephalus cryptoxanthus	LC	resident	1999	present	A3
Nyasa Lovebird Agapornis lilianae	NT	resident	1999	present	A3
East Coast Batis Batis soror	LC	resident	1999	present	A3
Meves's Long-tailed Starling Lamprotornis mevesii	LC	resident	1999	present	A3
Kurrichane Thrush Turdus libonyana	LC	resident	1999	present	A3
Arnot's Chat Myrmecocichla arnotti	LC	resident	1999	present	A3
White-breasted Sunbird Cinnyris talatala	LC	resident	1999	present	A3
Broad-tailed Paradise-whydah Vidua obtusa	LC	resident	1999	present	A3
Black-eared Seedeater Crithagra mennelli	LC	resident	1999	present	A3

1. The current IUCN Red List category. The category at the time of the IBA criteria assessment (2001) may differ.

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2001. The most recent assessment (2022) is shown below.

State (condition of the trigger species' populations)
Species	Reference	Actual	Units	% remaining	Result
Nyasa Lovebird Agapornis lilianae	1,000	4,000	mature individuals	100	favourable

State (condition of the trigger species' habitats)
Habitat	Quantity (% remaining)	Quality (% carrying capacity)	Result
Wetlands (inland)	poor (40-69%)	poor (40-69%)	very unfavourable
Shrubland	moderate (70-90%)	moderate (70-90%)	unfavourable
Forest	good (> 90%)	good (> 90%)	favourable

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Climate change and severe weather	happening now	whole area/population (>90%)	moderate to rapid deterioration	very high
Human intrusions and disturbance	happening now	majority/most of area/population (50-90%)	slow but significant deterioration	high

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Protected areas	Management plan	Other action	Result
Whole area of site (>90%) covered by appropriate conservation designation	A comprehensive and appropriate management plan exists that aims to maintain or improve the populations of qualifying bird species	Substantive conservation measures are being implemented but these are not comprehensive and are limited by resources and capacity	high

Year	Protected Area	Designation	% overlap with IBA
1973	Liwonde National Park	National Park	100

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Shrubland		67
Forest		25
Artificial/Terrestrial		3
Wetlands (inland)		2

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use	% of IBA
hunting	-
nature conservation and research	-
tourism/recreation	-
other	-

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Liwonde National Park (Malawi). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/liwonde-national-park-iba-malawi on 22/11/2024.