TN023
Barrage El Houareb


IBA Justification

The site was identified as internationally important for bird conservation in 2001 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 List Season (year/s of estimate) Size IBA criteria
White-headed Duck Oxyura leucocephala EN winter (-) 334 birds A1, A4i
Marbled Duck Marmaronetta angustirostris NT breeding (1999) 150–620 birds A1, A4i
Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca NT winter (1993) 1,400 birds A1, A4i

IBA Conservation

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2001. The most recent assessment (2009) is shown below.

IBA conservation assessment
Year of assessment State Pressure Response
2009 not assessed very high low
Whole site assessed? State assessed by Accuracy of information
yes unset good

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat Timing Scope Severity Result
Geological events happe­ning now whole of popul­ation/area (>90%) moderate decline (10–30% over 3 gener­ations) very high
Climate change and severe weather likely in long term (>4 years) most of popul­ation/area (50–90%) slow decline (1–10% over 3 gener­ations) medium

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Designation Planning Action Result
Little/none of area covered (<10%) No management plan exists, but the management planning process has begun Substantive conservation measures are being implemented, but these are not compre­hensive and are limited by resources and capacity low

Local Conservation Groups

The Local Conservation Group(s) listed below are working to conserve this IBA.

Name Year formed
AAO/ Kairouan Regional Branch 2000
For more information on BirdLife's work with Local Conservation Groups, please visit Spotlight on local empowerment.

Land use

Land use % of IBA
hunting -
water management -


Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Barrage El Houareb (Tunisia). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/barrage-el-houareb-iba-tunisia on 23/12/2024.