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The site was identified as internationally important for bird conservation 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 List	Season (year/s of estimate)	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

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	Actual vs Reference (units)	% remaining	Result
Nyasa Lovebird Agapornis lilianae	4,000 / 1,000 (mature individuals)	100	good

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

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Climate change and severe weather	happe­ning now	whole of popul­ation/area (>90%)	moderate decline (10–30% over 3 gener­ations)	very high
Human intrusions and disturbance	happe­ning now	most of popul­ation/area (50–90%)	slow decline (1–10% over 3 gener­ations)	high

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Designation	Planning	Action	Result
Whole area (>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 (management category)	% coverage of IBA
1973	Liwonde National Park	National Park (II)	100

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

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 23/12/2024.