Sites - Important Bird Areas (IBAs)

Summary The North Saramacca IBA has a size of approximately 100,400 ha of land and approximately an equal size of marine water and includes the Coppenamemonding Nature Reserve. This reserve has been established in 1966 to primarily protect nesting colonies and roosting sites of herons, scarlet ibis and other waterfowl and has a size of 12,000 ha. The reserve is also the only Ramsar site of Suriname, It also listed as a Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve in 1989 and at the same time also linked as Twin Sister Reserve with Minas Basin in Nova Scotia and Shepody Bay in New Brunswick, Canada. The area has bare coastal mudflats along the ocean which partially are covered with Along the coast a wide strip of several kilometer of mangrove forest is found which consists of young and old coastal mangrove and dying coastal mangrove. South of the mangrove zone saline and saline to brackish and fresh water grass swamps are found covered with Machaerium lunatum, Eleocharis mutata, Typha angustifolia. There are also scattered mangroves in brackish to fresh water grass swamp. The area comprises also swamp forests of Pterocarpus officinalis, Chrysobalanus icaco and Annona glabra. There are also sand ridges with mixed xero-mesophytic marsh forest. Within the reserve a well known lagoon “Pralala pan” occurs which is home for several waterfowl species. Because of uprooted mangrove over a length of several meters, this lagoon has an open connection with the sea. The area is connected with the sea by river and several creeks and the water varies from hyper saline to fresh water. The depth of the water can be more than one meter in the rainy season. Some swamps and lagoons may totally dry up in the long dry season. The area is known for its high biological production, breeding and feeding grounds for large numbers of local and migratory bird species and nursery ground for fish and shrimp. It has a rich population of fish, shrimp, wildlife and crabs. Plenty people of the local population have their living in fisheries and hunting in the area. Many people have their living also in oil mining in the area. Also rice cultivation takes place in the area on a large scale.

Ornithological information The Noord Saramacca IBA is part of an EBA because of the common occurence of three range restricted species, Guyanian Piculet, Blood-colored Woodpecker and Rufous Crabhawk. The mudflats and the swamps are important for the numurous North-American shorebirds.The 1% treshold is met for Scarlet Ibis, Semi-palmated Sandpiper, Semi-palmated plover, Short-billed Dowitcher. Hence it is an IBA on A2, A4i and A4iii criteria.

Site description Noord Sarramaca IBA is a Multiple use management Area which means that it has more functions than only nature protection. There is fishery in the shallow lagoons and on the mudflats, and there is legal and illegal hunting in the swamps. As with al wetlands the Noord Saramacca IBA is important for mankind because of its biological functions such as, nursery for seafish, waterfiltering and protection from rising seawaterlevel. Along with the other wetlands, Bigi Pan, Noord Coronie and Noord Sarramacca these sites are Multiple Use Management Areas wich are managed by the Surinamese goverment. These sites are very vunerable, because of the high productivity which can lead to overexploitation.Along with the other wetlands, Bigi Pan, Noord Coronie and Noord Commewijne/Marowijne these sites are Multiple Use Management Areas wich are managed by the Surinamese goverment. These sites are very vunerable, because of the high productivity which can lead to overexploitation.

Populations of IBA trigger species

Protected areas

Protected area	Designation	Area (ha)	Relationship with IBA	Overlap with IBA (ha)
Noord Saramacca	Multiple Use Management Area	15,000	protected area contained by site	0

Habitats

Land ownership Owned by the state. Staatolie has an exploitation permit for oil.

Land use

Management considerations Poaching (colony of Scarlet Ibis), Shorebirds and others. Accidents during oil exploitation offshore and onshore. Illegal fishery.

Protection status This a Multiple use Management Area.

Conservation response Waterfowls and wetlands in Suriname B. H. L. De Jong, A. Spaans and M. Held (1984).

References Coastal Management plan for the North Saramacca Area in Suriname by P.A. Teunissen (2000)

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Recommended citation  BirdLife International (2013) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Northern Saramacca. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 25/05/2013

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