Jasiira lagoon and Muqdisho islets (6873)
Somalia, Africa

Site overview

KBA status: confirmed

Global KBA criteria: D1a

Year of last assessment: 2001

National site name: Jasiira lagoon and Muqdisho islets

Central coordinates: Latitude: 1.9500, Longitude: 45.1333

System: marine, terrestrial

Elevation (m): 0 to 50

Area of KBA (km²): 26.50213

KBA classification: Global

Legacy site: Yes

Site details

Site description: Jasiira (Gezira) lagoon lies on the Indian Ocean coast, south of Muqdisho. The lagoon is separated from the sea by a series of sand-dunes which support some scrub vegetation. The lagoon feeds into saltpans which are used for the commercial extraction of salt. The land is flat for up to 3 km inland, at which point it rises steeply to an altitude of 100 m. The habitat here is also dominated by dunes covered with Acacia and Delonix spp., other trees and thorn-bush and is dotted with seasonal pools. Offshore, adjacent to and south of Jasiira lagoon, lies a string of four small islets, all of which can be reached at low tide by wading. ‘First Mosque Island’ is situated immediately offshore from Jasiira. ‘North Island’, a little further south, lies 170 m offshore and measures 78 × 23 m; half the island is bare, eroded coral rock, and the other half supports a sparse covering of coarse grass. ‘Second Mosque Island’ is 171 × 41 m and is covered with a low growth of Suaeda and areas of coarse grass and bare rock, while Buntapsi island lies 180 m offshore, is 55 × 25 m and is mainly covered with coarse grass.

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: See Box and Tables 2 and 3 for key species. Spizocorys obbiensis occurs in the dunes around the lagoon. Sea caves on the mainland are important for breeding colonies of Apus berliozi. The islets are used from June to August by breeding Sterna dougallii and S. fuscata. In 1980, at least 500 S. dougallii nests were recorded, while in July 1987, 600 S. dougallii were counted at roost. The lagoon is frequented by a wide diversity of Palearctic migrant waders from August to April, while Afrotropical waterbirds such as Phoenicopterus ruber and Egretta gularis are present year-round. Many thousands of terns and some gulls, including Sterna caspia, S. nilotica, S. paradisaea and Larus fuscus, feed in the coastal waters off this site and roost both on the mainland and on the islets. It is possible that numbers will be found to exceed 20,000. Non-bird biodiversity: The perimeter of the lagoon apparently supports a number of rare plant species.

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

Habitats

Land use: agriculture | urban/industrial/transport

Threats

Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: The site has been proposed as a National Park. Because of the ease of access to the islands, egg-collecting is a problem. The mainland area is used seasonally for camel-grazing by nomadic pastoralists.

Additional information