Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
Gacan Libaax (Ga’an Libah) is situated in the western part of the northern mountains, south of the coastal town of Berbera, extending westwards along the escarpment from near the village of Shiikh. Included also is Mount Wagar, immediately to the north of Shiikh. The vegetation of the site comprises c.30,000 ha of Afromontane vegetation and 20,000 ha of
Buxus hildebrandtii-dominated evergreen and semi-evergreen bushland and thicket.
See Box and Tables 2 and 3 for key species. This is the only locality known in the country for
Cercomela dubia (and
Muscicapa gambagae), while several of the other Somali–Masai biome species, including
Rhynchostruthus socotranus, are known from few other IBAs nationally.
Non-bird biodiversity: Among mammals, Papio hamadryas (LR/nt), Oreotragus oreotragus (LR/cd), Dorcotragus megalotis (VU) and Gazella dorcas pelzelni (VU) have been recorded.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Gacan Libaax has been proposed as a National Park.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Gacan Libaax (Somalia). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/gacan-libaax-iba-somalia on 22/11/2024.
