Ringgold Islands (Fiji) IBA | Details | BirdLife International

FJ15

Ringgold Islands

Current view: Data table and detailed info

IBA Justification

The site was identified as internationally important for bird conservation in 2012 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
Red-footed Booby Sula sula	LC	breeding (2010)	4,770 pairs	A4ii
Brown Booby Sula leucogaster	LC	breeding (2010)	2,691 pairs	A4ii
Black Noddy Anous minutus	LC	breeding (2010)	53,641 pairs	A4i
A4iii Species group - waterbirds	n/a	- (2010)	55,000 pairs	A4iii

IBA Conservation

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2012. The most recent assessment (2018) is shown below.

IBA conservation assessment
Year of assessment	State	Pressure	Response
2018	good	medium	medium
Whole site assessed?	State assessed by	Accuracy of information
yes	habitat	medium

State (condition of the trigger species' habitats)
Habitat	Quantity (% remaining)	Quality (% carrying capacity)	Result
Forest	-	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	some of population/area (10–49%)	slow decline (1–10% over 3 generations)	medium
Human intrusions and disturbance	happening now	few individuals/small area (<10%)	no or slight decline (<1% over 3 generations)	low
Biological resource use	happening now	few individuals/small area (<10%)	no or slight decline (<1% over 3 generations)	low
Invasive and other problematic species and genes	past (and unlikely to return) and no longer limiting	whole of population/area (>90%)	slow decline (1–10% over 3 generations)	low

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90%) covered by appropriate conservation designation	A management plan exists, but it is out of date or not comprehensive	Substantive conservation measures are being implemented, but these are not comprehensive and are limited by resources and capacity	medium

Habitats

Habitat	% of IBA	Habitat detail
Forest	90	Dry deciduous forest (tropical); Beach and atoll forest
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	10

Land use

Land use	% of IBA
fisheries/aquaculture	90
tourism/recreation	10

Land ownership

The Ringgold Islands and its traditional fishing grounds are communally owned by three different clans who live in villages away from the Ringgolds. The islands are fairly shared by these clans but they do share the fishing grounds in which these islands are located. The Ringgold islands are formed by 7 islands namely Naqelelevu, Vetau'ua, Nukubasaga, Nukupureti, Nukusemanu, Tainibeka and Tauraria.

The ownership of the islands are as follows: Naqelelevu, Tainibeka and Vetau'ua belongs to the Clan or Yavusa Naqelelevu. Members of this clan live in a settlement called Fatima on Taveuni Island. Naqelelevu is inhabited most times of the year by clan members who return to collect coconuts, coconut crabs and fish. As of 2010, there were 2 houses built on the island with a telecommunication kiosk and a light house powered by solar energy.

Tauraria Island belongs to the sub-clan or Mataqali Ra; members of this sub-clan reside in Dreketi Village on Qamea Island, about 61.25 miles southwest of Tauraria landing.

Nukupureti, Nukubasaga and Nukusemanu belongs to the sub-clan or Mataqali Qilo whose members live on Yanuca Island, approximately 22.18 miles southwest off Nukusemanu.

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Ringgold Islands (Fiji). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/ringgold-islands-iba-fiji on 23/12/2024.