Data Zone
Country/territory: French Southern Territories
IBA criteria met: A4i, A4iii (2001)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 506 ha
Site description (2001 baseline)
The site is a coral island in the central Mozambique Channel, lying around 200 km west-south-west of Cap Saint André, Madagascar. Its ecosystems were severely degraded by human settlement for guano extraction until 1972. Only two naturalists have visited the site since the 1950s, but the vegetation is believed to be low shrubland. The island is used by the military, and also supports a meteorological station.
Key biodiversity
See Box for key species. Juan de Nova supports a very large colony of Sterna fuscata, in addition to a small population (at least 50 pairs in 1994) of nesting S. bergii. At least seven landbird species occur, most probably introduced.
Non-bird biodiversity: The islet is a nesting site for the sea-turtle Chelonia mydas (EN).
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Juan de Nova (French Southern Territories). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/juan-de-nova-iba-french-southern-territories on 23/11/2024.