Djebel Aissa (6181)
Algeria, Africa
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2016
National site name: Djebel Aissa
Central coordinates: Latitude: 32.7506, Longitude: -0.3927
Elevation (m): 1000 to 2000
Area of KBA (km2): 6288.20005
Protected area coverage (%): 30.73
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.180 km south-west of El Bayadh (site DZ025) and only 50 km from the Moroccan border. The town of Aïn Sefra is surrounded by peaks of over 2,000 m. The coordinates given are those for the town of Aïn Sefra itself. There is no designated protected area in the region and more survey work will be required to define the boundaries of an IBA, but records from the location suggest that the site will qualify as a biome-restricted IBA.
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. The biome-restricted species known from this site include the only record of Ammomanes cincturus for any Algerian IBA north of the Sahara and one of only two Algerian IBA site records for Scotocerca inquieta. Non-bird biodiversity: None known to BirdLife International.
Delineation rationale: 2013-12-09 (BL Secretariat): the IBA Aïn Sefra (SitRecID 6181; no boundary defined) has been re-named as Djebel Aissa (for which State Forest there is a boundary, encompassing the area defined as Ain Sefra), as part of the KBA analysis of the CEPF Mediterranean hotspot. 2014-02-27 (BL Secretariat): site area of 630000 ha calculated from KBA polygon, rounded to nearest 10%.
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: No information.