Les Sept Frères (6152)
Djibouti, Africa

Site overview

KBA status: confirmed

Global KBA criteria: D1a

Year of last assessment: 2001

National site name: Les Sept Frères

Central coordinates: Latitude: 12.4333, Longitude: 43.3833

System: marine, terrestrial

Elevation (m): 0 to 112

Area of KBA (km²): 43.3824

KBA classification: Global

Legacy site: Yes

Site details

Site description: The site is an archipelago of six small volcanic islands in the mouth of the Red Sea at the Bab-el-Mandeb straits (the peninsula at Ras Siyyan, not included in this IBA, makes the seventh member of the group, from which the archipelago takes its name). The islands are rocky and virtually unvegetated. They are surrounded by a rich marine environment; the mixing of warm Red Sea waters from the north and west with cold, nutrient-rich upwelling water from the Somali-Arabian Sea region to the east, results in an unusual coral-reef habitat. The area is visited sporadically by sport-divers, and by fishermen, largely Yemeni.

Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that meets the thresholds for at least one criterion described in the Global Standard for the Identification of KBAs.

Additional biodiversity: See Box for key species. A colony of Sterna bengalensis and Sterna bergii was recorded nesting on one of the islands, Ounda Dâbali, in September 1985. Other species which breed, in unknown numbers, on the archipelago include Sula leucogaster, Pandion haliaetus and Falco concolor, the latter a Sahara–Sindian biome species (see Table 2). Non-bird biodiversity: There is high diversity of fish, with endemics from both the Red Sea–Gulf of Aden region and the Arabian Sea region occurring. Turtles—most commonly Eretmochelys imbricata (CR), probably also Chelonia mydas (EN)—are seen around the islands. Three species of black coral have been recorded.

Delineation rationale: Type 1 marine IBA: suitable for the seaward extension approach.

Habitats

Land use: fisheries/aquaculture | tourism/recreation

Threats

Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: Egg-collecting is known to be a threat to the nesting terns. The coral reefs and marine environment in general are currently in a good condition, although spear-fishing (illegal in Djibouti, but widely practised), other tourist damage and overfishing could threaten the site if adequate controls are not introduced and implemented. Protection of the islands on biological grounds has been recommended to the Government, principally to safeguard their rich marine life, but also acknowledging their value for nesting birds (Obura 1999).

Additional information