Sites - Important Bird Areas (IBAs)

Ornithological information Koroyanitu and Vaturu are important in conserving the geographical distribution of Fiji's restricted-range species. They have drier forests than those in eastern Viti Levu and support a different sub-set of Fiji’s forest birds.The nationally threatened Peregrine Falcon nests in the Koroyanitu cliffs and hunts over the IBA. A1 Globally threatened species * Friendly Ground-dove (VU) – fairly common at Vaturu * Black-faced Shrikebill (VU) – rare at Vaturu * Masked Shining Parrot (NT) – fairly common at Vaturu and Koroyanitu A2 Restricted-range species 22 species (out of 25 on Viti Levu), including two of the three endemic to Viti Levu.

Site description Koroyanitu and Vaturu support the sub-set of endemic birds which occur in the drier transitional forest of west Viti Levu, and this drier forest also supports high numbers of Friendly Ground-doves (VU). Koroyanitu is a community-managed protected area and Vaturu is a protected water catchment forest.

Populations of IBA trigger species

Protected areas

Protected area	Designation	Area (ha)	Relationship with IBA	Overlap with IBA (ha)
Koroyanitu National	Heritage Park	3,500	protected area contained by site	3,500
Vatura Forest Amenity Reserve	Amenity Reserve	0	protected area contained by site	0

Habitats

Land use

Other biodiversity Koroyanitu and the Mt Evans range is a hot-spot for endemic plants including two species found nowhere else in the world, Aglaia evansensis (CR) and Syzygium minus (EN). The vertebrate fauna of Koroyanitu includes the Fijian Tree Frog (NT), but no biodiversity surveys have been undertaken at Vaturu.

Management considerations Agricultural intensification/expansion; burning of vegetation; selective logging/cutting; invasive alien species

Protection status This IBA is part of the Koroyanitu National Heritage Park. This designation has no legal status in Fiji but is used here to denote areas where land-owners, the Native Land Trust Board and the government have agreed to protect nationally imprortant natural and cultural values and to assist their protection by the development of ecotourism

Conservation response This IBA is better protected than many but small scale forest loss from expanding small-scale agriculture and fire is still a threat. The impact of invasive alien species is poorly known and needs further research. Koroyanitu National Heritage Park is a community-based conservation and tourism project based primarily in Abaca and Navilawa villages, initially supported by NLTB, SPREP and NZAID, now assisted by the National Trust of Fiji. Community support is partly dependent on the income generated from accommodating and guiding tourists, so sustainable conservation requires an ongoing flow of visitors. The forest at Vaturu is protected to conserve the water supply for Nadi. Access to Vaturu is restricted, and should be protected against both logging and agricultural expansion. Both sites are close to Fiji’s main tourist hub at Nadi –Koroyanitu already receives many visitors and a similar ecotourism initiative could be established around Vaturu.

References BIRDLIFE INTERNATIONAL (2005) Fiji Programme IBA project field report No. 9. GOF(1998) Botanical Biodiversity in Fiji.Technical Group 3, Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan. Suva: Department of Environment. Unpublished report. THAMAN, R. (1996) The biodiversity of Koroyanitu National Park. Domodomo 10: 28–50.

Contribute  Please click here to help BirdLife conserve the world's birds - your data for this IBA and others are vital for helping protect the environment.

Recommended citation  BirdLife International (2013) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Koroyanitu/Vaturu. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 19/06/2013

To provide new information to update this factsheet or to correct any errors, please email BirdLife