Rock of Gibraltar (17)
Gibraltar (to UK), Europe
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2000
National site name: Rock of Gibraltar
Central coordinates: Latitude: 36.1417, Longitude: -5.3458
System: terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 396
Area of KBA (km2): 6.33736
Protected area coverage (%): 31.65
KBA classification: Regional
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: The Rock of Gibraltar is dominated by a dense cover of maquis and garrigue, including many important fruit-bearing shrubs that support large passerine populations on passage and during the winter.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that was identified using previously established criteria and thresholds for the identification of Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) and for which available data indicate that it does not meet global KBA criteria and thresholds set out in the Global Standard.
Additional biodiversity: Gibraltar is a well-known migratory bottleneck site for birds of prey, with an estimated 250,000 raptors crossing the Strait in a season. If the winds are right then most of these pass over Gibraltar, and numbers may in fact be higher. It is also a stop-over site for passerines and near-passerines, with a rapid turnover of birds on passage during both northward and southward migration.
Habitats
Land use: military (30%) | nature conservation and research (8%) | tourism/recreation (30%) | urban/industrial/transport (40%)
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Marine Coastal/Supratidal | 20 | |
| Artificial - Terrestrial | 40 | |
| Shrubland | 40 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: A number of military sites are designated as conservation areas. 197 ha of the Rock of Gibraltar are proposed as a SPA under the EC Birds Directive, and as a SAC under the EC Habitats Directive.