Pointe d'Awfist (6519)
Morocco, Africa

Site overview

KBA status: confirmed

Global KBA criteria: D1a

Year of last assessment: 2001

National site name: Pointe d'Awfist

Central coordinates: Latitude: 25.5833, Longitude: -14.6833

System: marine, terrestrial

Elevation (m): 0 to 50

Area of KBA (km²): 1.5173

KBA classification: Global

Legacy site: Yes

Site details

Site description: The site comprises a 6-km stretch of sandy coastline with low dunes, located approximately 50 km south of Boujdour in the Moroccan Sahara. The sand and dunes have accreted at the foot of 100-m-high rocky cliffs—which for many kilometres in either direction constitute the normal coastline—to form a barely perceptible point. These cliffs mark the inland boundary of the site, which is around 1 km wide at most. The site is accessible by two tracks descending the cliffs, and is frequented by rod-and-line subsistence fishermen who have constructed several camps. The dunes support sparse, salt-tolerant tussock vegetation.

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: The site’s ornithological interest lies in the fact that it is the only sandy stretch of coastline for many kilometres north or south, and is therefore used as a roosting site by waders and seabirds, particularly migrant gulls. In winter it is an important roost for Larus audouinii. Two January visits recorded 1,680 individuals (in 1993) and 5,500 (in 1997). Non-bird biodiversity: None known to BirdLife International.

Delineation rationale: Type 2 marine IBA: non-breeding (coastal) congregations.

Habitats

Land use: fisheries/aquaculture

Threats

Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: The Pointe d’Awfist is currently unprotected, but has been identified as a priority 2 SIBE (No. L37). The principal threats are pollution and disturbance of birds by fishermen, and the main conservation measures required are the restriction of access to the site during the winter months and the removal of the few scattered permanent fishing camps.

Additional information