Data Zone
Country/territory: Cameroon
IBA criteria met: A1, A3 (2001)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 4,000 hectares (40.00 km2)
| IBA conservation status | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year of assessment (most recent) | State (condition) | Pressure (threat) | Response (action) |
| 2013 | not assessed | very high | low |
| For more information about IBA monitoring, please click here | |||
Site description (2001 baseline)
Located south of the town of Dschang, the site is surrounded by four rivers, the Alouno to the north, the Nkam river to the west, to the south by the Metché river and to the east by the Alouo river. The vegetation is a mixture of Sterculiaceae- and Ulmaceae-dominated semi-deciduous forest, shrubby savanna, submontane forest, periodically inundated swamp-forest and grassland. Forest species include Mitragyna ciliata, Lophira alata, Khaya ivorensis, Milicia (Chlorophora) excelsa, Mansonia altissima, Terminalia spp., Klainedoxa gabonensis, Prunus africana and a few emergent Polyscias fulva. The grasslands comprise Pennisetum, Eleusine, Andropogon spp. and Imperata cylindrica. About nine villages are found within the reserve.
Key biodiversity
See Box and Table 3 for key species. Some 161 species have so far been recorded from the reserve, including the restricted-range Hirundo fuliginosa (of unknown status; Table 2). This is one of only two IBAs in Cameroon at which the Guinea–Congo Forests biome species Phyllanthus atripennis occurs. One species of the Sudan–Guinea Savanna biome (A04) also occurs (Table 3).
Non-bird biodiversity: Large mammals have been considerably reduced by poaching and habitat destruction.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Santchou Faunal Reserve (Cameroon). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/santchou-faunal-reserve-iba-cameroon on 23/12/2024.