Aftout Es Sâheli (Mauritania) - BirdLife IBA factsheet

MRU12

Aftout Es Sâheli

Current view: Data table and detailed info

IBA Justification

The site was identified as important in 2019 because it was regularly supporting significant populations of the species listed below, meeting ('triggering') IBA criteria.

Populations meeting IBA criteria ('trigger species') at the site:

Species	Red List¹	Season	Year(s)	Size	IBA criteria
Northern Shoveler Spatula clypeata	LC	winter	2014-2017	10,060-15,442 individuals	B3a
Northern Pintail Anas acuta	LC	winter	2014-2017	15,183-21,005 individuals	B3a
Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus	LC	non-breeding	2014-2017	20,311-37,863 individuals	A4, B3a
Lesser Flamingo Phoeniconaias minor	NT	non-breeding	2014-2017	6,552-12,000 individuals	B1a, B3a
Eurasian Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia	LC	winter	2014-2017	722-1,202 individuals	A4, B3a
Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo	LC	non-breeding	2014-2017	1,055-2,378 individuals	B3a
Pied Avocet Recurvirostra avosetta	LC	winter	2014-2017	664-749 individuals	B3a
Kittlitz's Plover Charadrius pecuarius	LC	non-breeding	2014-2017	152-330 individuals	B3a
Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica	NT	winter	2014-2017	55-129 individuals	B1a
Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa	NT	winter	2014-2017	304-602 individuals	B1a
Red Knot Calidris canutus	NT	winter	2014-2017	246-515 individuals	B1a
Curlew Sandpiper Calidris ferruginea	VU	winter	2014-2017	212-277 individuals	B1a
Slender-billed Gull Larus genei	LC	non-breeding	2014-2017	309-696 individuals	B3a
Common Gull-billed Tern Gelochelidon nilotica	LC	winter	2014-2017	221-461 individuals	B3a
Caspian Tern Hydroprogne caspia	LC	non-breeding	2014-2017	420-1,269 individuals	B3a
Sahelian Woodpecker Dendropicos elachus	LC	resident	2001	present	A3
Cricket Warbler Spiloptila clamans	LC	resident	2001	present	A3
Black Scrub-robin Cercotrichas podobe	LC	resident	2001	present	A3
Sudan Golden Sparrow Passer luteus	LC	resident	2001	present	A3
A4iii Species group - waterbirds	n/a	non-breeding	2014-2017	61,023-83,143 individuals	B3b

1. The current IUCN Red List category. The category at the time of the IBA criteria assessment (2019) may differ.

IBA Conservation

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2019. The most recent assessment (2022) is shown below.

IBA conservation assessment
Year of assessment	State	Pressure	Response
2022	not assessed	very high	low
Whole site assessed?	State assessed by	Accuracy of information
no	unset	good

State (condition of the trigger species' populations)
Species	Reference	Actual	Units	% remaining	Result
Phoenicopterus ruber	500	460	breeding pairs	92	not assessed

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Transportation and service corridors	happening now	whole area/population (>90%)	very rapid to severe deterioration	very high
Agricultural expansion and intensification	happening now	majority/most of area/population (50-90%)	moderate to rapid deterioration	high
Residential and commercial development	happening now	majority/most of area/population (50-90%)	moderate to rapid deterioration	high

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Protected areas	Management plan	Other action	Result
Little/none of site covered (<10%)	A comprehensive and appropriate management plan exists that aims to maintain or improve the populations of qualifying bird species	Substantive conservation measures are being implemented but these are not comprehensive and are limited by resources and capacity	low

IBA Protection

Year	Protected Area	Designation	% overlap with IBA
2005	Delta du Fleuve Sénégal (Mauritania)	UNESCO-MAB Biosphere Reserve	-

Habitats

Habitat¹	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Desert		51
Marine Coastal/Supratidal		25
Grassland		23

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use

Land use	% of IBA
agriculture	-
water management	-
rangeland/pastureland	-

Land ownership

The site is unprotected, even though it's the only nesting site for Lesser Flamingos in West Africa, so it's definitely worth protecting the area.

Now there's a surveillance post at the Diawling National Park.

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Aftout Es Sâheli (Mauritania). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/aftout-es-sâheli-iba-mauritania on 23/11/2024.