Parc National des Iles de la Madeleine (6849)
Senegal, Africa

Site overview

KBA status: confirmed

Year of last assessment: 2001

National site name: Parc National des Iles de la Madeleine

Central coordinates: Latitude: 14.6500, Longitude: -17.4667

System: marine, terrestrial

Elevation (m): 0 to 35

Area of KBA (km²): 0.21071

Protected area coverage (%): 99.36

KBA classification: Regional

Legacy site: Yes

Site details

Site description: The park consists of three rocky, volcanic islands lying about 4 km west of the Senegal coast, off the southern end of the Cap Vert peninsula on which Dakar lies, and the areas of sea between the islands. The largest, the ‘Iles aux serpents’, is about 15 ha. The islands are covered in steppe-grassland. Trees include baobabs Adansonia, jujubas Ziziphus, prickly-pear Opuntia and tamarinds Tamarindus.

Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that was identified using previously established criteria and thresholds for the identification of Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) and for which available data indicate that it does not meet global KBA criteria and thresholds set out in the Global Standard.

Additional biodiversity: See Box for key species. The 30 or more pairs of Phaethon aethereus are the only breeding birds of this species known from a mainland African country. The islands harbour a varied avifauna including a breeding colony (400 nests) of Phalacrocorax carbo (introduced in the 1980s from the Parc National des Oiseaux du Djoudj, part of site SN001), and breeding Corvus albus, Milvus migrans, Galerida cristata and Euplectes orix. Sterna anaethetus breeds on the islands and there are records of Sula leucogaster, Morus bassanus, Larus cachinnans, L. cirrocephalus and L. fuscus. Alaemon alaudipes, restricted to the Sahara–Sindian (A02) biome, has been recorded from the site. Non-bird biodiversity: The sea-turtle Caretta caretta (EN) has nested on a small beach and the dolphins Steno bredanensis (DD) and Stenella coeruleoalba (LR/cd) have been recorded within the park. The tortoise Geochelone sulcata (VU) has been introduced to the islands.

Delineation rationale: Type 1 marine IBA: suitable for the seaward extension approach.

Habitats

Land use: nature conservation and research | tourism/recreation

Threats

Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: The uncontrolled development of sport-fishing and other marine sporting activities may pose some threat to the National Park’s integrity and cause disturbance in the region of the park. Casual visitors to the park are not controlled and may cause hazards through lighting fires and disturbance to nesting birds.

Additional information