Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
Ile Blanche is the southernmost island of the Iles de Los archipelago, located some 10 km offshore, south-west of the capital Conakry. It is a rocky, lateritic island with a surface area of some 10 ha which becomes divided into three islets at high tide. The island is covered with fine and coarse sands with, except for a few mangroves, little vegetation. The mean tidal amplitude is 3.6 m and the island is surrounded by relatively deep water.
See Box for key species. The island is regularly used as a roost by terns and other waterbirds.
Non-bird biodiversity: The sea-turtle Lepidochelys olivacea (EN), and possibly other sea-turtle species, nest on the sandy beaches.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The island was declared a Ramsar Site in 1993. It is uninhabited, but there is heavy human pressure on turtle nests and young. This activity is likely to result in disturbance of roosting and breeding birds.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Ile Blanche (Guinea). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/ile-blanche-iba-guinea on 23/11/2024.
