El Bayadh (6180)
Algeria, Africa
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2016
National site name: El Bayadh
Central coordinates: Latitude: 33.6833, Longitude: 1.0000
Elevation (m): 1300 to 1500
Area of KBA (km2): 1.58296
KBA classification: Global/Regional TBD
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: The site lies in the Saharan Atlas mountain range, south of the Hauts Plateaux, c.270 km south-east of the city of Oran and 160 km west of the town of Laghouat (which is situated on the edge of the Sahara desert). The site lies within the Djebel Amour mountain chain, which runs north-east from El Bayadh (1,310 m), with many peaks over 500 m. There is no designated protected area in the region and more survey work will be required to define the boundaries of an IBA. The coordinates given are those for the town of El Bayadh itself, but a number of records have been included which in fact derive from the road between El Bayadh and Aflou, c.110 km to the east.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance because it meets one or more previously established criteria and thresholds for identifying sites of biodiversity importance (including Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas, Alliance for Zero Extinction sites, and Key Biodiversity Areas) 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: See Box and Table 2 for key species. A ‘small colony’ of Geronticus eremita was reported from the Djebel Amour near El Bayadh in the 1970s and the species continued to breed here into the early 1980s. It has not been recorded since 1988 when there was no evidence of any breeding attempt (S. J. Farnsworth pers. comm., P. Isenmann pers. comm.). Three of the biome-restricted species (Ramphocoris clotbey, Chersophilus duponti and Eremophila bilopha) are unknown from any other IBA in Algeria. Non-bird biodiversity: None known to BirdLife International.
Delineation rationale: 2014-02-27 (BL Secretariat): site area of 160 ha calculated from KBA polygon, rounded to nearest 10%.
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: No information.
Additional information
References: Ledant et al. (1981).