Marais Larache (6482)
Morocco, Africa
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2016
National site name: Marais Larache
Central coordinates: Latitude: 35.0285, Longitude: -5.9088
Elevation (m): 0 to 10
Area of KBA (km2): 387.1956
Protected area coverage (%): 15.95
KBA classification: Global/Regional TBD
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: Marais Larache is situated on the outskirts of the Atlantic coastal town of Larache. It extends 15 km inland, as the crow flies, from the mouth of the Oued Loukkos, including the estuary and associated saltpans and various freshwater marshes along its course. The two principal marshes are Bedaoua Sejra, on the right bank of the Oued Loukkos and Ain Chouk-Boucharène on the left bank. The whole site comprises part of the Plaine de Ksar El Kbir and is traversed by the Larache–Tanger (Tangiers) road. The marshes are one of the most important wetlands in the country, with a luxuriant and diverse assemblage of aquatic and semi-aquatic vegetation, including Typha, Juncus, Scirpus and Phragmites spp. and fringing stands of Tamarix and Salix spp.
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 for key species. This wetland site is one of the 5–10 most important wintering sites for Palearctic migrants in Morocco, situated as it is on the Atlantic coastal flyway. More than 4,000 duck regularly winter, including up to 100 Marmaronetta angustirostris. Numenius tenuirostris was formerly recorded, while Larus audouinii regularly occurs in small numbers. Over 50 species breed, including Fulica cristata. The Marais Larache is the only known Moroccan breeding site for small numbers of Aythya nyroca, and the most important Moroccan site for Porphyrio porphyrio (>600 wintering); Asio capensis also breeds. Non-bird biodiversity: Six endemic lizards—Acanthodactylus lineomaculatus, Chalcides colosii, C. mionecton, C. pseudostriatus, C. polylepis and Blanus tingitanus—occur, as does the endemic Moroccan amphibian Pelobates varaldii.
Delineation rationale: As part of compiling the CEPF Ecosystem Profile of the Mediterranean Hotspot (2017), the KBA Marais Larache (SitRecID 6482) has been expanded to form the larger KBA Complexe du bas Loukkos, enclosing the neighbouring KBA Loukkos River (31846) in the process.
Habitats
Land use: agriculture | hunting | tourism/recreation | urban/industrial/transport
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: The site is mainly public land, with some private holdings. The estuary and the Roman ruins of Lixus are protected as a ‘Monument Historique’ and Hunting Reserve: the remainder is unprotected. The site was classed as a priority 1 SIBE (No. L12). Human activities include extensive and intensive agriculture (cereal and legumes, tomatoes and sugar-cane), livestock-rearing, hunting, salt production, reed-cutting and tourism.There are multiple threats, including a cannery on the right bank of the estuary, which discharges large volumes of effluent into the saltpans; overgrazing of the upper marshes; illegal hunting and collecting of birds’ eggs; pollution from agricultural pesticides and fertilizers contained in farmland run-off; a proposed new irrigation project on the lower Oued Loukkos; and a proposed drainage scheme to convert the marshland to agricultural land. The area merits gazetting, and perhaps designation as a Ramsar Site, followed by the application of an integrated management plan. Measures to protect bird nesting sites and to control hunting and water-pollution are urgently required.
| Threat level 1 | Threat level 2 | Threat level 3 | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Livestock farming & ranching | Scale Unknown/Unrecorded | Ongoing |
| Natural system modifications | Dams & water management/use | Abstraction of ground water (commercial use) | Ongoing |
| Residential & commercial development | Housing & urban areas | Ongoing | |
| Transportation & service corridors | Roads & railroads | Ongoing |
Additional information
References: BCEOM-SECA (1995c), El Agbani (1997).