Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
Bemaraha Tsingy National Park and Strict Nature Reserve are located 60–80 km inland of the west coast of Madagascar. They are delimited to the south by the Manambolo river, to the east by a cliff, to the west by savanna, and to the north by the Soahany river. The western part of the site comprises a raised, heavily eroded karst plateau (Bemaraha Tsingy), with elongate sink-holes and deep canyons. Several permanent rivers and some seasonal streams flow out of the karst into the Soahany and Manambolo rivers. The vegetation is dense, dry deciduous forest, although, where the soil is humid, the forest has been degraded and, in the sink-holes and canyons, the forest is more evergreen, with trees higher than 12 m on average and a thick layer of leaf-litter. The non-forested part of the site, away from the karst, is savanna, with gallery forest lining the more permanent watercourses.
See Box and Tables 2 and 3 for key species. Ninety-six species are known from the site, of which 39 are endemic to Madagascar. Populations of
Canirallus and
Monticola at the site probably represent distinct species, restricted to the reserve.
Non-bird biodiversity: Lemurs: Mirza coquereli (VU), Phaner furcifer pallescens (VU), Hapalemur griseus occidentalis (VU), Avahi occidentalis (VU), Propithecus verreauxi deckeni (VU). Carnivore: Cryptoprocta ferox (VU).
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
There are areas of slash-and-burn cultivation in the Tsiandro sector and, in the south, the contact zone between the forest and the savanna has been converted to pasture. Exploitation for wood has had a very evident impact on the forest, especially along the oil-industry road and within the reserve. Other threats include hunting of lemurs, collection of forest plants for food and medicine, widespread cattle-grazing, and collection of fauna for trade.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park and Strict Nature Reserve (Madagascar). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/tsingy-de-bemaraha-national-park-and-strict-nature-reserve-iba-madagascar on 23/12/2024.
