Archipel d'Essaouira (6506)
Morocco, Africa

Site overview

KBA status: confirmed

Year of last assessment: 2016

National site name: Archipel d'Essaouira

Central coordinates: Latitude: 31.5000, Longitude: -9.8000

Elevation (m): 0 to 29

Area of KBA (km²): 0.63366

Protected area coverage (%): 100.00

KBA classification: Global

Legacy site: Yes

Site details

Site description: The site is a small archipelago, also known as ‘Les Iles Purpuraires’, consisting of the Ile de Mogador and several associated islets, only some 800 m offshore from the Atlantic coastal port of Essaouira. The islands are composed of stabilized and fossilised sand-dunes, and consist of largely flat terrain broken by holes and fissures. The highest point on the islands is only 29 m. The chief plant species are Lycium intricatum, Suaeda fruticosa and Mesembryanthemum crystallinum.

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. 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 site harbours the world’s largest breeding colony of Falco eleonorae and is one of only three nesting sites known on the Atlantic coast of Africa (two in Morocco and one in the Canary Islands). Although normally a cliff-nesting species, on the Archipel d’Essaouira Falco eleonorae nests on the ground, often in cavities one or two metres deep. Another eight species regularly nest, including 4,000 pairs of Larus argentatus—the largest colony in Morocco. In addition the islands harbour one of the major Moroccan colonies (60–70 pairs) of Phalacrocorax carbo maroccanus, a subspecies restricted to Morocco and Mauritania. In April 1997, eight breeding pairs of Apus unicolor, a restricted-range species (of the Madeira and Canary Islands Endemic Bird Area, EBA 120) which only occasionally breeds in Morocco, were reported. Non-bird biodiversity: None known to BirdLife International.

Habitats

Land use: nature conservation and research

Threats

Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: The site is a Permanent Biological Reserve and has been identified as a priority 1 SIBE (No. L26). Access by tourists and fishermen is forbidden, although the control of unauthorized landings is a problem for the Eaux et Forêts warden. This measure has apparently reduced the collection of gulls and falcons’ eggs, with a resultant increase in their populations. Surveillance needs to be maintained and reinforced, as every year some visitors succeed in landing on the islands without a permit and disturbing nesting birds.

Threat level 1	Threat level 2	Threat level 3	Timing
Biological resource use	Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	Intentional use (species being assessed is the target)	Ongoing

Additional information