Jowhar - Warshiikh (6871)
Somalia, Africa
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: A1e
Year of last assessment: 2018
National site name: Jowhar - Warshiikh
Central coordinates: Latitude: 2.5333, Longitude: 45.7833
System: terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 200
Area of KBA (km2): 2339.73552
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: Jowhar–Warshiikh (Warshek) lies on the southern coast of Somalia, to the north of Muqdisho and immediately south-east of Xawaadley reservoir (site SO014). The site includes areas of sand-dunes close to the sea and rolling plains inland, with patches of low, often heavily grazed, halophytic scrub and herbaceous growth. Vegetation on the large coastal dunes includes areas of deciduous woodland.
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. Alliance for Zero Extinction (2018): site confirmed as an AZE site during the AZE project (2015-2018). Taxonomy, nomenclature and Red List category follow the IUCN 2016 Red List.
Additional biodiversity: See Box and Tables 2 and 3 for key species. In addition to those listed below, Circus macrourus has been recorded from this site. The site includes the type-locality of Mirafra ashi, the only place from which it is known. Of the other Somali–Masai biome species recorded, Mirafra hypermetra, M. poecilosterna, Cisticola cinereolus and Anthoscopus musculus have been recorded from few other IBAs in Somalia. Non-bird biodiversity: Mammals of conservation concern that occur, or which used to do so, include Chlorotalpa tytonis (CR), Gazella soemmerringii (VU), G. spekei (VU), Tragelaphus imberbis (LR/cd), Madoqua piacentinii (VU) and Litocranius walleri (LR/cd).
Habitats
Land use: agriculture
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: The area has been proposed as a National Park. Urban sprawl from Moqdisho, including the construction of an airport on the coastal strip in 1991, increasingly threatens this site. It is heavily grazed and there is a risk that overgrazing of vegetation on the dunes may lead to their destabilization. Other threats include hunting.