MG021
Port-Bergé Wetlands NPA and extension


Site description (2001 baseline):

Site location and context
This vast complex of wetlands lies on the flood-plain of the Bemarivo river, and includes water-bodies near Mahajamba (Lakes Andranolava, Mafana and Faly, and the Bekapila flood-plain), water-bodies near Port-Bergé (Lakes Besisika, Matsaborifanjava, Ampahaka and Ampombitika-Bezanadaoka—the only large and deep lake—and the Sofia river), and Lake Bekatra near Antsohihy. Lake-margin vegetation includes beds of Cyperus and reed Phragmites. Agriculture predominates in between the wetlands, particularly rice-fields, but there are also areas of dense, dry deciduous forest, savanna (sometimes with palms Bismarckia), and areas dominated by the non-native bush Mimosa pudica.

Key biodiversity
See Box and Tables 2 and 3 for key species. Sixty-eight species are known from the site, of which 14 are endemic to Madagascar. A nesting colony of Mycteria ibis is known from the region, and other species such as Ardea humbloti may nest locally.

Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Wild duck, e.g. Dendrocygna viduata and D. bicolor, are regularly hunted. The conversion of lake-margins to rice-fields also constitutes a threat.


Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Port-Bergé Wetlands NPA and extension (Madagascar). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/port-bergé-wetlands-npa-and-extension-iba-madagascar on 24/12/2024.