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The site was identified as important in 1998 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 List1	Season	Year(s)	Size	IBA criteria
Black-necked Grebe Podiceps nigricollis	LC	non-breeding	-	250-300 individuals	A4i
Lesser Flamingo Phoeniconaias minor	NT	non-breeding	-	present	A1
Ludwig's Bustard Neotis ludwigii	EN	resident	1998	present	A3
Karoo Bustard Heterotetrax vigorsii	LC	resident	1998	present	A3
Cape Cormorant Phalacrocorax capensis	EN	non-breeding	-	1,228-6,000 individuals	A1, A4i
African Oystercatcher Haematopus moquini	LC	resident	-	20-50 breeding pairs	A1, A4i
African Oystercatcher Haematopus moquini	LC	non-breeding	-	78-296 individuals	A1, A4i
Kelp Gull Larus dominicanus	LC	non-breeding	-	354-1,433 individuals	A4i
Damara Tern Sternula balaenarum	LC	breeding	-	present	A1
Greater Crested Tern Thalasseus bergii	LC	non-breeding	-	869-4,941 individuals	A4i
Gray's Lark Ammomanopsis grayi	LC	resident	1998	present	A3
Cape Long-billed Lark Certhilauda curvirostris	LC	resident	1998	present	A3
Dune Lark Calendulauda erythrochlamys	LC	resident	1998	present	A3
Black-eared Sparrow-lark Eremopterix australis	LC	resident	1998	present	A3
Dune Lark Calendulauda erythrochlamys	LC	resident	1998	present	A2, A3
Stark's Lark Spizocorys starki	LC	resident	1998	present	A3
Namaqua Warbler Phragmacia substriata	LC	resident	1998	present	A3
Cinnamon-breasted Warbler Euryptila subcinnamomea	LC	resident	1998	present	A3
Layard's Warbler Curruca layardi	LC	resident	1998	present	A3
Karoo Chat Emarginata schlegelii	LC	resident	1998	present	A3
Sickle-winged Chat Emarginata sinuata	LC	resident	1998	present	A3
Tractrac Chat Emarginata tractrac	LC	resident	1998	present	A3
Black-headed Canary Serinus alario	LC	resident	1998	present	A3

1. The current IUCN Red List category. The category at the time of the IBA criteria assessment (1998) may differ.

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 1998. The most recent assessment (2001) is shown below.

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Energy production and mining	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	slow but significant deterioration	medium
Biological resource use	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	slow but significant deterioration	medium

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Protected areas	Management plan	Other action	Result
Not assessed	Not assessed	Not assessed	not assessed

Year	Protected Area	Designation	% overlap with IBA
1995	Orange River Mouth	Ramsar Site, Wetland of International Importance	<1
2008	Tsau // Khaeb (Sperrgebiet)	National Park	100
2008	Sperrgebiet	National Park	84

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Desert	Absolute desert, Coastal desert, Gravel and sand plains, Stone desert	68
Grassland		30
Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks)	Inselbergs, kopjes & inland cliffs	minor (<10)

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use	% of IBA
agriculture	-
nature conservation and research	-
urban/industrial/transport	-

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Sperrgebiet (Namibia). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/sperrgebiet-iba-namibia on 23/11/2024.