Data Zone
Country/territory: Burundi
IBA criteria met: A1, A2, A3 (2001)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 50,800 hectares (508.00 km2)
| IBA conservation status | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year of assessment (most recent) | State (condition) | Pressure (threat) | Response (action) |
| 2021 | moderate | medium | medium |
| For more information about IBA monitoring, please click here | |||
Site description (2001 baseline)
Located in north-eastern Burundi, the park extends south-westwards from the border with Tanzania along a 65 km stretch of the valley of the Ruvubu river. The south-western boundary of the park lies some 20 km to the east of the town of Gitega. The Ruvubu river valley comprises a series of meanders flanked by swamp vegetation, gallery forest and, further inland, savanna woodland. The latter comprises Hyparrhenia grassland with Brachystegia, Julbernardia, Combretum and Terminalia spp. and Acacia seyal plus Pericopsis and Parinari spp. on hillsides. Riverine forest lines the Ruvubu, interspersed with areas of Cyperus papyrus and Phoenix reclinata. There are also areas of flood-plain grassland, while papyrus swamps with sparse Syzygium occur along the drainage lines of the smaller valleys. On the high ridge which forms the southern boundary of the park, Protea sp. is common. The vegetation of the park includes Zambezian elements at the northern limits of their distribution. The rain season extends from October to May.
Key biodiversity
See Box and Tables 2 and 3 for key species. More than 200 bird species have been recorded, including Ardeola idae, Circus macrourus, Falco naumanni and Gallinago media. Large numbers of waterbirds occur with counts of over 1,000 Pelecanus onocrotalus and large numbers of Mycteria ibis. Other species recorded include Neotis denhami. In addition, three species of the Guinea–Congo Forests biome and 10 of the Afrotropical Highlands biome have also been recorded (see Table 3).
Non-bird biodiversity: Mammals of global conservation concern include Panthera leo (VU) and Tragelaphus spekii (LR/nt).
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Ruvubu National Park (Burundi). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/ruvubu-national-park-iba-burundi on 23/12/2024.