Data Zone
Country/territory: Tanzania
IBA criteria met: A3, A4i (2001)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 45,700 hectares (457.00 km2)
| IBA conservation status | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year of assessment (most recent) | State (condition) | Pressure (threat) | Response (action) |
| 2002 | good | low | low |
| For more information about IBA monitoring, please click here | |||
Site description (2001 baseline)
The National Park consists of a main island, 12 much smaller islands and the expanse of water around them. These islands are situated in the south-western corner of Lake Victoria to the north of Emin Pasha Gulf. The islands are forested, with large grassy glades on the main island. The shorelines are a mix of narrow sandy beaches, rock, forest-edge and isolated stands of papyrus Cyperus papyrus.
Key biodiversity
See Box and Table 3 for key species. No species list exists for the park. Two species of the Guinea–Congo Forests biome have been recorded (see Table 3). The smaller islands provide safe nesting sites for species which would formally have bred on the nearby mainland. Ardea goliath occurs in noteworthy numbers with a count of 107 birds, including 12 active nests, in January 1995. During January 1995, some 638 Haliaeetus vocifer were counted within the park, including a single concentration of 166 birds. This is a far higher density than has been recorded elsewhere on Lake Victoria. Numbers of other colonial waterbirds such as Phalacrocorax africanus and Threskiornis aethiopicus may well exceed 1% thresholds seasonally, but no counts have been made. Rubondo main island holds a wide variety of other species, including huge breeding colonies of four species of Ploceus weavers and a relatively dense population of Circaetus cinerascens which are rare in East Africa. During January 1995, an unidentified Batis flycatcher was recorded in forest on the main island.
Non-bird biodiversity: Small populations of endangered mammals were released on the main island during the 1970s including Diceros bicornis (CR), Loxodonta africana (EN) and Pan trogolodytes (EN). Tragelaphus spekii (LR/nt) are common on the main island, as is Lutra maculicollis (VU).
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Rubondo Island National Park (Tanzania). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/rubondo-island-national-park-iba-tanzania on 23/12/2024.