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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
Blue Crane Anthropoides paradiseus	VU	resident	-	present	A1
Cape Vulture Gyps coprotheres	VU	resident	-	700-900 breeding pairs	A1, A4ii
Cape Vulture Gyps coprotheres	VU	non-breeding	-	1,800-2,200 individuals	A1, A4ii

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 (2013) is shown below.

State (condition of the trigger species' populations)
Species	Reference	Actual	Units	% remaining	Result
Cape Vulture Gyps coprotheres	900	804	breeding pairs	90	near favourable

State (condition of the trigger species' habitats)
Habitat	Quantity (% remaining)	Quality (% carrying capacity)	Result
Artificial/Terrestrial	moderate (70-90%)	moderate (70-90%)	unfavourable
Savanna	good (> 90%)	good (> 90%)	favourable

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Agricultural expansion and intensification	happening now	majority/most of area/population (50-90%)	moderate to rapid deterioration	high
Residential and commercial development	happening now	majority/most of area/population (50-90%)	moderate to rapid deterioration	high
Transportation and service corridors	happening now	majority/most of area/population (50-90%)	moderate to rapid deterioration	high
Natural system modifications	happening now	majority/most of area/population (50-90%)	moderate to rapid deterioration	high
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
Invasive and other problematic species and genes	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
Little/none of site covered (<10%)	A management plan exists but it is out of date or not comprehensive	Substantive conservation measures are being implemented but these are not comprehensive and are limited by resources and capacity	low

Year	Protected Area	Designation	% overlap with IBA
1954	Austin Roberts Private Nature Reserve	Nature Reserve	<1
1954	Ons Toekoms Private Nature Reserve	Nature Reserve	<1
1955	Pearson Private Nature Reserve	Nature Reserve	<1
1959	Rousseau Snyman Private Nature Reserve	Nature Reserve	<1
1959	Phillippus Private Nature Reserve	Nature Reserve	<1
1960	Kroondal Private Nature Reserve	Nature Reserve	<1
1960	Mooikloof Private Nature Reserve	Nature Reserve	<1
1962	Blesbok Private Nature Reserve	Nature Reserve	<1
1962	J. G. Erasmus Private Nature Reserve	Nature Reserve	<1
1962	Ruskamp Private Nature Reserve	Nature Reserve	<1
1962	Groenfontein Private Nature Reserve	Nature Reserve	<1
1964	W Ranch Private Nature Reserve	Nature Reserve	<1
1964	Louis Kotze Private Nature Reserve	Nature Reserve	<1
1965	Hen Nel Private Nature Reserve	Nature Reserve	<1
1965	Hoekberge Private Nature Reserve	Nature Reserve	<1
1965	Pierre Fourie Private Nature Reserve	Nature Reserve	<1
1965	Kindjie Private Nature Reserve	Nature Reserve	<1
1965	E. H. Rachmann Private Nature Reserve	Nature Reserve	<1
1967	HUWI i Private Nature Reserve	Nature Reserve	1
1967	HUWI ii Private Nature Reserve	Nature Reserve	<1
1967	HUWI iii Private Nature Reserve	Nature Reserve	<1
1967	M.M. Schoenfeld Private Nature Reserve	Nature Reserve	<1
1967	Les Brown Private Nature Reserve	Nature Reserve	<1
1967	Wyn Van Staden Private Nature Reserve	Nature Reserve	<1
1967	Spruytskloof Private Nature Reserve	Nature Reserve	<1
1967	Elandsberg Private Nature Reserve	Nature Reserve	<1
1967	Krupel Private Nature Reserve	Nature Reserve	<1
1967	Geelhoutkop Private Nature Reserve	Nature Reserve	<1
1968	Alexander Estate Private Nature Reserve	Nature Reserve	<1
1968	Moepel Private Nature Reserve	Nature Reserve	<1
1968	Rooiberg Private Nature Reserve	Nature Reserve	<1
1969	Rinda Private Nature Reserve	Nature Reserve	<1
1969	Alem Private Nature Reserve	Nature Reserve	<1
1969	Jacob van der Merwe Private Nature Reserve	Nature Reserve	<1
1970	Pat Cloete Private Nature Reserve	Nature Reserve	<1
1973	Doorndraai Dam	Nature Reserve	-
1974	Chriwilma Private Nature Reserve	Nature Reserve	<1
1974	Gys Vlok Nature Reserve	Nature Reserve	<1
1974	Van Heerden Private Nature Reserve	Nature Reserve	<1
1985	Masebe	Nature Reserve	1
1994	Marakele National Park	National Park	4
2001	Waterberg Biosphere Reserve	UNESCO-MAB Biosphere Reserve	100
2014	Welgevonden Game Reserve	Nature Reserve	2
2014	Mokolo Nature Reserve	Nature Reserve	1
2015	Ka'ingo Nature Reserve	Nature Reserve	1
2015	Nungu Private Nature Reserve	Nature Reserve	<1
2015	Leopard Cave Safaris Nature Reserve	Nature Reserve	<1
2016	D'nyala Nature Reserve	Nature Reserve	1
2017	Mogol Nature Reserve	Nature Reserve	<1
2017	Swebeswebe Nature Reserve	Nature Reserve	<1
2017	Alkantrant Nature Reserve	Nature Reserve	<1

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Artificial/Terrestrial	Arable land	-
Forest	Woodland - mixed	-
Savanna	Wooded grassland	-
Shrubland	Scrub - forest	-

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use	% of IBA
nature conservation and research	30
unknown	-

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Waterberg System (South Africa). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/waterberg-system-iba-south-africa on 23/11/2024.