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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
South African Shelduck Tadorna cana	LC	non-breeding	-	1,000-2,451 individuals	A4i
Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus	LC	non-breeding	-	50-100 individuals	A4i
Lesser Flamingo Phoeniconaias minor	NT	non-breeding	-	frequent	A1
Red-knobbed Coot Fulica cristata	LC	non-breeding	-	2,000-5,425 individuals	A4i
African Spoonbill Platalea alba	LC	non-breeding	-	120-257 individuals	A4i
African Darter Anhinga rufa	LC	non-breeding	-	300-600 individuals	A4i
Pied Avocet Recurvirostra avosetta	LC	non-breeding	-	417 individuals	A4i

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 (2014) is shown below.

State (condition of the trigger species' habitats)
Habitat	Quantity (% remaining)	Quality (% carrying capacity)	Result
Wetlands (inland)	moderate (70-90%)	poor (40-69%)	very unfavourable
Shrubland	very poor (< 40%)	very poor (< 40%)	very unfavourable

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Pollution	happening now	majority/most of area/population (50-90%)	very rapid to severe deterioration	very high
Climate change and severe weather	likely in long term (beyond 4 years)	whole area/population (>90%)	very rapid to severe deterioration	high
Agricultural expansion and intensification	happening now	majority/most of area/population (50-90%)	moderate to rapid deterioration	high
Biological resource use	happening now	majority/most of area/population (50-90%)	moderate to rapid deterioration	high
Residential and commercial development	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	moderate to rapid deterioration	high
Invasive and other problematic species and genes	happening now	majority/most of area/population (50-90%)	slow but significant deterioration	high
Energy production and mining	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	slow but significant deterioration	medium
Natural system modifications	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	slow but significant deterioration	medium
Transportation and service corridors	happening now	small area/few individuals (<10%)	no or imperceptible deterioration	low

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Protected areas	Management plan	Other action	Result
Little/none of site covered (<10%)	No management plan exists but the management planning process has begun	Very little or no conservation action taking place	negligible

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Artificial/Terrestrial	Arable land	-
Grassland	Grassland - Semi-desert	-
Shrubland	Shrubland - bushy Karroo	-
Wetlands (inland)	Artificial wetlands, Rivers & streams	-

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use	% of IBA
water management	80
nature conservation and research	12
tourism/recreation	-

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Spitskop Dam (South Africa). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/spitskop-dam-iba-south-africa on 23/11/2024.