Praslin National Park and surrounding areas Important Bird Area

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Map of Praslin showing the location of the National Park and the Vallee de Mai Praslin.svg
Map of Praslin showing the location of the National Park and the Vallée de Mai
The IBA is an important site for Seychelles blue pigeons Seychelles Blue Pigeon.jpg
The IBA is an important site for Seychelles blue pigeons

The Praslin National Park and surrounding areas Important Bird Area lies in the southern part of the island of Praslin in the Seychelles archipelago of the western Indian Ocean.

Praslin island

Praslin is the second largest island (38.5 km2) of the Seychelles, lying 44 km (27 mi) northeast of Mahé. Praslin has a population of around 7,533 people and comprises two administrative districts: Baie Sainte Anne and Grand' Anse. The main settlements are the Baie Ste Anne, Anse Volbert and Grand' Anse.

Seychelles Island country to the East of Africa

Seychelles, officially the Republic of Seychelles, is an archipelago country in the Indian Ocean. The capital of the 115-island country, Victoria, lies 1,500 kilometres (932 mi) east of mainland East Africa. Other nearby island countries and territories include Comoros, Mayotte, Madagascar, Réunion and Mauritius to the south; as well as the Maldives and British Indian Ocean Territory to the east. With a population of roughly 94,228, it has the smallest population of any sovereign African country.

Archipelago A group of islands

An archipelago, sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands.

Contents

Description

The 700  ha Important Bird Area (IBA) extends from sea-level to the highest point of the island at an elevation of 367 m. It includes the 330 ha Praslin National Park as well as additional land to the south-east. The hill-slopes of the site are mainly covered by mixed secondary forest containing a high proportion of native plants, notably all six of Seychelles’ endemic palm species. It includes the palm forest of the World Heritage listed Vallée de Mai, as well as many small streams and waterfalls. The south-eastern part of the site is drier, characterised by boulders and caves amongst scrub vegetation. [1]

Hectare metric unit of area

The hectare is an SI accepted metric system unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides, or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is about 0.405 hectare and one hectare contains about 2.47 acres.

Important Bird Area area recognized as being globally important habitat for the conservation of birds populations

An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations.

Secondary forest

A secondary forest is a forest or woodland area which has re-grown after a timber harvest, until a long enough period has passed so that the effects of the disturbance are no longer evident. It is distinguished from an old-growth forest, which has not recently undergone such disruption, and complex early seral forest, as well as third-growth forests that result from harvest in second growth forests. Secondary forest regrowing after timber harvest differs from forest regrowing after natural disturbances such as fire, insect infestation, or windthrow because the dead trees remain to provide nutrients, structure, and water retention after natural disturbances. However, often after natural disturbance the timber is harvested and removed from the system, in which case the system more closely resembles secondary forest rather than complex early seral forest.

Fauna

The site was identified as an IBA by BirdLife International because it supports populations of Seychelles kestrels, Seychelles blue pigeons, Seychelles swiftlets, Seychelles bulbuls and Seychelles sunbirds. Reptiles and amphibians found at the site include the Seychelle Islands tree frog, six caecilians, four geckos, two skinks and two snakes, all of which are endemic. Hawksbill turtles nest on the beaches and green turtles feed along the coast. Most of the Praslin population of the Seychelles fruit bat roosts in the IBA. [1]

BirdLife International is a global partnership of conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats, and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources. It is the world's largest partnership of conservation organisations, with over 120 partner organisations.

Seychelles kestrel species of bird, the Seychelles Kestrel

The Seychelles kestrel is a small bird of prey belonging to the genus Falco in the falcon family, Falconidae. It is endemic to the Seychelles Islands where it is the only breeding bird of prey. It is known in Seychellois Creole as the katiti after its loud, shrill call.

Seychelles blue pigeon species of bird

The Seychelles blue pigeon, also known as the Seychelles blue fruit dove, is a medium-sized pigeon which inhabits woodland areas of the granitic Seychelles archipelago.

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Curieuse Island island

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Cousin Island island

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Vallée de Mai protected area

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Cousine Island island

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Granitic Seychelles island in Seychelles

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Marie Louise Island coral island in the Amirantes group of the Outer Islands of the Republic of Seychelles

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<i>Archaius</i> genus of reptiles

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Rivière des Remparts – Rivière Langevin Important Bird Area

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Tsitongambarika

Tsitongambarika is a lowland forest in southern Madagascar. The area supports many rare species of amphibians, birds, lemurs and reptiles; many of which are endemic. In 2001 the site was designated as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International and in 2015, an area of 600 km² received environmental protection by the government. The reserve is the recipient of monies raised by the 2016 Rutland Birdfair.

References

  1. 1 2 "Praslin National Park and surrounding areas". Important Bird Areas factsheet. BirdLife International. 2013. Retrieved 2013-08-21.

Coordinates: 04°20′S55°44′E / 4.333°S 55.733°E / -4.333; 55.733

Geographic coordinate system Coordinate system

A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position and two or three of the numbers represent a horizontal position; alternatively, a geographic position may be expressed in a combined three-dimensional Cartesian vector. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation. To specify a location on a plane requires a map projection.