Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
Garaet Mabtouh is a freshwater marsh, situated some 20 km south of Bizerte, in the lower flood-plain of the Medjerda, Tunisia’s largest river (which rises in Algeria). Formerly, the whole of the flood-plain must have been a magnificent wetland, but most has now been reclaimed for agriculture, and Garaet Mabtouh is the only part which still floods. In dry winters the site is not flooded, but in wet seasons it can hold considerable numbers of waterbirds, no doubt originating at nearby Ichkeul.
See Box for key species. Other species wintering at the site include
Egretta garzetta,
Ardea cinerea,
Anas penelope,
A. crecca,
Circus aeruginosus,
Fulica atra,
Grus grus,
Himantopus himantopus,
Pluvialis apricaria and
Vanellus vanellus.
Non-bird biodiversity: None known to BirdLife International.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Main threats are hunting, drainage and the effects of the use of pesticides.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Garaet Mabtouh (Tunisia). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/garaet-mabtouh-iba-tunisia on 26/12/2024.
