Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
Jowhar–Warshiikh (Warshek) lies on the southern coast of Somalia, to the north of Muqdisho and immediately south-east of Xawaadley reservoir (site SO014). The site includes areas of sand-dunes close to the sea and rolling plains inland, with patches of low, often heavily grazed, halophytic scrub and herbaceous growth. Vegetation on the large coastal dunes includes areas of deciduous woodland.
See Box and Tables 2 and 3 for key species. In addition to those listed below,
Circus macrourus has been recorded from this site. The site includes the type-locality of
Mirafra ashi, the only place from which it is known. Of the other Somali–Masai biome species recorded,
Mirafra hypermetra,
M. poecilosterna,
Cisticola cinereolus and
Anthoscopus musculus have been recorded from few other IBAs in Somalia.
Non-bird biodiversity: Mammals of conservation concern that occur, or which used to do so, include Chlorotalpa tytonis (CR), Gazella soemmerringii (VU), G. spekei (VU), Tragelaphus imberbis (LR/cd), Madoqua piacentinii (VU) and Litocranius walleri (LR/cd).
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The area has been proposed as a National Park. Urban sprawl from Moqdisho, including the construction of an airport on the coastal strip in 1991, increasingly threatens this site. It is heavily grazed and there is a risk that overgrazing of vegetation on the dunes may lead to their destabilization. Other threats include hunting.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Jowhar - Warshiikh (Somalia). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/jowhar--warshiikh-iba-somalia on 22/11/2024.
