Sites - Important Bird Areas (IBAs)

Summary Yalijux is an important site for range-restricted birds of the North Central American Highlands, including the globally threatened Highland Guan and Pink-headed Warbler. Agriculture (corn, coffee, cardamom) has reduced the forest cover to 18%.

Ornithological information Yalijux is an important site for birds restricted to the North Central American Highlands (16 species recorded) and biome-restricted species of the Madrean Highlands (39 species). The site supports populations of three globally threatened species, the resident Highland Guan (Penelopina nigra) and Pink-headed Warbler (Ergaticus versicolor), and Golden-cheeked Warbler (Dendroica chrysoparia) during migration. Ornithological research has been focused on the high-elevation areas of this IBA (Eisermann 1999, 2001, 2005, Renner 2003), Renner et. al 2006, Eisermann et al. 2006).

Site description Yalijux is located in the Atlantic slope mountain range of Guatemala. Bordered by the rivers Cahabon and Polochic, this IBA includes forest fragments extending from cloud forest at 2600 m elevation to rainforest at 50 m.

Populations of IBA trigger species

Protected areas

Protected area	Designation	Area (ha)	Relationship with IBA	Overlap with IBA (ha)
Chelemhá	Private Nature Reserve	321	protected area contained by site	0
Chicacnab	Private Nature Reserve	48	protected area contained by site	0
Chinajux y Sechinaux	Private Nature Reserve	685	protected area contained by site	0
Grutas de Lanquín	National Park	11	protected area contained by site	0
K'antí Shul	Private Natural Reserve	1,366	protected area contained by site	0
Semuc Champey	Natural Monument	1,714	protected area contained by site	1,714
Semuc Champey	Natural Monument	1,714	protected area contained by site	964

Habitats

Land ownership The land is mainly privately and communal owned.

Land use

Management considerations Slash-and-burn agriculture is common in the area, threatening the forest by fires and conversion to agricultural land. Although pressure on natural habitat has been lowered on the short term by providing forest easements and other alternative income among local farmers (agriculture, research, tourism), long-term protection in uncertain, because the Guatemalan human population is growing rapidly.

Protection status Currently only 1.9% of this IBA are legally protected (CONAP 2007), including four Private Nature Reserves, one National Park and a Natural Monument. Several private landowners receive forest easement and are committed to a 5-years forest conservation.

Conservation response Cloud forest in the Yalijux mountain is being protected by providing forest easements and the establishment of alternative crops in Maya Q'eqchi' villages (fruit trees). Fruit tree plantations are established as fire protection belt around the primary forest. Local tourism programs are developed by several communities, which also provide alternative income. Bird populations are monitored since 2006 by PROEVAL RAXMU Bird Monitoring Program.

Acknowledgements PROEVAL RAXMU Bird Monitoring Program provided unpublished ornithological data. Input of unpublished data and suggestions for the delimitation of the IBA was provided during a workshop in Cobán, in August 2006, by representatives of Consejo Nacional de Areas Protegidas (CONAP) - Las Verapaces, Asociación de Proyectos Evaluados Raxmu (PROEVAL RAXMU), Peace Corps, Cooperativa Sanimtaca, Cooperativa Samac, and Comité Central Menotita. This first assessment of IBAs in Guatemala was conducted by Sociedad Guatemalteca de Ornitología and BirdLife International in the Americas.

References 
CONAP. 2007. Lista de áreas protegidas inscritas en el SIGAP. Consejo Nacional de Áreas Protegidas (CONAP), Guatemala. (Database accessed in June 2007)

Eisermann, K. 1999. Avifaunistisch-ökologische Untersuchungen in einer Nebelwaldregion Guatemalas als Grundlage für die Entwicklung eines Biomonitoringprogamms. Diplomarbeit, Fachhochschule Eberswalde, Alemania.

Eisermann, K. 2001. Reporte de avance: investigaciones de la avifauna de las regiones Ik'bolay, Guaxac y Sacranix, Alta Verapaz. Unpublished report to BIDAS/Proyecto Eco-Quetzal, Cobán.

Eisermann, K. 2005. Noteworthy bird observations in Alta Verapaz, Guatemala. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 125: 3-11.

Eisermann, K. & U. Schulz. 2005. Birds of a high-altitude cloud forest in Alta Verapaz, Guatemala. Revista de Biología Tropical 53: 577-594.

Eisermann, K., N. Herrera & O. Komar. 2006. Highland Guan (Penelopina nigra). Pp. 90-95. In D. M. Brooks (Ed.) Conserving Cracids: the most threatened family of birds in the Americas. Miscellaneous Publications of the Houston Museum of Natural Science 6.

MAGA. 2006. Mapa de cobertura vegetal y uso de la tierra a escala 1:50,000 de la República de Guatemala, Año 2003 (Incluye 5 cultivos perennes actualizados al año 2005). Memoria técnica y descripción de resultados. Ministerio de Agricultura Ganadería y Alimentación –MAGA– / Unidad de Planificación Geográfica y Gestión de Riesgo –UPGGR–, Guatemala Ciudad, Guatemala.

Renner, S. C. 2003. Structure and diversity of cloud forest bird communities in Alta Verapaz, Guatemala, and implications for conservation. Doctoral thesis, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Germany.

Renner, S. C., M. Waltert & M. Mühlenberg. 2006. Comparison of bird communities in primary vs. young secondary tropical montane cloud forest in Guatemala. Biodiversity and Conservation 15: 1545-1575.

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: Yalijux. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 24/05/2013

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