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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
Corncrake Crex crex	LC	winter	-	present	A1
Wattled Crane Bugeranus carunculatus	VU	resident	-	present	A1
Blue Crane Anthropoides paradiseus	VU	resident	-	present	A1
Southern Bald Ibis Geronticus calvus	NT	resident	-	present	A1
Black Harrier Circus maurus	EN	resident	-	present	A1

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
Grassland	very poor (< 40%)	poor (40-69%)	very unfavourable
Wetlands (inland)	moderate (70-90%)	moderate (70-90%)	unfavourable

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Biological resource use	happening now	majority/most of area/population (50-90%)	slow but significant deterioration	high
Human intrusions and disturbance	happening now	whole area/population (>90%)	slow but significant deterioration	high
Pollution	happening now	majority/most of area/population (50-90%)	slow but significant deterioration	high
Energy production and mining	likely in long term (beyond 4 years)	some of area/population (10-49%)	moderate to rapid deterioration	medium
Agricultural expansion and intensification	happening now	small area/few individuals (<10%)	very rapid to severe deterioration	low
Residential and commercial development	happening now	small area/few individuals (<10%)	slow but significant deterioration	low
Transportation and service corridors	happening now	small area/few individuals (<10%)	slow but significant 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 planning has taken place	Some limited conservation initiatives are in place	negligible

Year	Protected Area	Designation	% overlap with IBA
1975	Umvoti Vlei Nature Reserve	Nature Reserve	6

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Forest		75
Shrubland		24
Grassland	Grassland - highveld	-
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent herbaceous swamps and bogs	-

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use	% of IBA
nature conservation and research	100
tourism/recreation	-

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Umvoti Vlei (South Africa). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/umvoti-vlei-iba-south-africa on 22/11/2024.