Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
Kiunga Marine National Reserve (gazetted in 1979) incorporates a chain of about 50 calcareous offshore islands and coral reefs in the Lamu Archipelago, running for some 60 km parallel to the coastline off the northernmost coast of Kenya, north-east of Pate Island. Composed of old, eroded coral, the islands lie mainly c.2 km offshore, and inshore of the fringing reef; they vary in size from a few hundred square metres to 100 ha or more. Their walls rise sheer from the surrounding seabed and are usually deeply undercut on the landward side. The larger islands and the more sheltered inner islands are covered with low, tangled, thorny vegetation, including grass, aloes and creepers. The small outer islands, coral blocks up to 18 m high, provide nest sites for seabirds. They consist of bare, sharp-edged spikes and ridges of coral on the seaward side, with only a little straggling vegetation, such as
Salicornia and the succulent
Sanseveria. On the landward side there is more vegetation, including stunted, thorny bushes of
Commiphora and
Salvadora persica. The coast itself has sandy beaches, some with mangrove swamps, and mangroves often grow in the shelter of the larger islands. Rainfall is around 500 mm/year. Part of the mainland coastline is protected in the 87,700 ha Dodori National Reserve, gazetted in 1976. Kiunga Biosphere Reserve, covering an area of 60,000 ha and including the National Reserve, was designated in 1980.
See Box for key species. The small outer islands are rich in seabirds. Over 5,000 pairs of
Sterna dougallii were recorded on Mlango wa Hindi in August 1970, with 1,195 pairs noted on islets near Kiunga in 1961. Other species nesting in the reserve include
Larus hemprichii,
Sterna repressa,
S. anaethetus and
Anous stolidus. The seabirds nest from June to September, when rough seas and strong winds make human access to the islands difficult. They do not use the larger or more vegetated islands. Over 800
Dromas ardeola were noted at the southern end of Kiwayuu Island in November 1996, and other migrant waders frequent the more sheltered flats and creeks, mainly from August to April.
Non-bird biodiversity: Three globally threatened species of turtles—Chelonia mydas (EN), Eretmochelys imbricata (CR) and Lepidochelys olivacea (EN)—nest on the beaches. There are recent records of the globally threatened mammal Dugong dugon (VU). The reserve conserves valuable coral reefs, sea-grass meadows and extensive mangrove forests, with their attendant biodiversity.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The human population around the reserve is low, and the poor security situation in recent years means that few people live permanently in the area. This, combined with difficult access, has also limited the development of ecotourism. Local fishermen traditionally collect seabirds’ eggs when they can, usually taking the entire contents of a colony. The sheer, underhung walls of the islets and the rough seas during the south-east monsoon make access difficult, so egg collection is probably infrequent. Predation of
Sterna dougallii eggs by
Larus hemprichii, and by the storks, ibises and herons that roost on the islets at high tide and at night, may have a substantial impact even without human disturbance. There is some low-volume, high-cost tourism in the reserve. The luxurious Kiwayu Safari Camp is based at Stesheni on the mainland, and there are several camps on Kiwayu Island. A number of archaeological sites on the mainland and main islands have great tourist potential. A World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) project is working at Kiunga, focusing on community conservation of coral reef fish, turtles and dugongs. There has been no recent survey of seabirds during the nesting season, so the current status of the seabird colonies is unclear. Additional work in this little-known site is needed.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Kiunga Marine National Reserve (Kenya). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/kiunga-marine-national-reserve-iba-kenya on 27/12/2024.
