Lake Butrinti (2910)
Albania, Europe
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2016
National site name: Liqeni i Butrintit
Central coordinates: Latitude: 39.7833, Longitude: 20.0483
Area of KBA (km2): 147.92234
Protected area coverage (%): 58.40
KBA classification: Regional
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: A brackish coastal lake in the southern part of Albania, with an outlet to the sea via a channel of about 4 km. The lake (1,630 ha) is used for extensive mussel-farming and hunting, and is surrounded by hills with orchards and scattered maquis. Water-fringe vegetation is poor, apart from an area (50 ha) on the north side that includes Phragmites, Scirpus and wet grasslands. The channel to the sea has Salicornia-covered islands and small coastal marshes. The nearby small lake of Bufi, included within the IBA, is fringed with reedbeds.
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. KBA identified in the CEPF Ecosystem Profile of the Mediterranean Hotspot (2017). Taxonomy, nomenclature and global threat category follow the 2016 IUCN Red List.
Additional biodiversity: Given that there are few large natural tectonic lakes with reedbeds in the Balkans, the site is believed to be of importance, especially for birds breeding in reedbeds, and criterion B2 has been applied. However, data are incomplete and numbers currently fall below the IBA thresholds; disturbance may also contribute to the low counts. The site also supports substantial numbers of wintering waterbirds; censuses recorded 7,700 individuals in January 1995, and 8,300 individuals in January 1996.
Habitats
Land use: agriculture (10%) | fisheries/aquaculture (35%) | hunting (30%) | tourism/recreation (10%) | urban/industrial/transport (5%)
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Marine Intertidal | 17 | |
| Marine Coastal/Supratidal | 33 | |
| Shrubland | 10 | |
| Rocky Areas(e.g., inland cliffs, mountain peaks) | 15 | |
| Artificial - Terrestrial | 5 | |
| Forest | 10 | |
| Marine Neritic | 10 |