Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
The site is a narrow coastal lagoon located between the towns of Korba and Menzel Temime, on the eastern coast of the Cap Bon peninsula. It is 12 km long, but never exceeds 400 m in width. It is the largest surviving lagoon of a chain which used to extend all along the eastern shore of the Cap Bon peninsula, several of which have dried up because of agricultural use of groundwater. Water-levels are quite deep in winter, because of winter rainfall, but most dry out in summer; the Korba lagoons remain wet even in summer because they receive treated waste-water from the town and the organic outflow from canning factories. The seaward shoreline supports a dune vegetation comprising
Ammophila arenaria,
Erygium maritimum and
Euphorbia paralias. The edges of the lagoon itself support a halophytic vegetation, including
Arthrophytum and
Salicornia species.
See Box for key species. Given the site’s situation directly on the path of birds migrating between Africa and Europe, it is a key stop-over site for migrants in spring and autumn (when it is one of the few wetland sites which regularly hold water). A wide variety of waterbirds occur, especially herons, waders, gulls and terns, including
Ardea cinerea,
Egretta garzetta,
Phoenicopterus ruber,
Tadorna tadorna,
Marmaronetta angustirostris (40–100 birds on passage),
Anas platyrhynchos,
A. clypeata,
A. acuta,
Calidris minuta,
Himantopus himantopus (up to 250 pairs breed),
Charadrius dubius,
C. alexandrinus and
Recurvirostra avosetta.
Non-bird biodiversity: None are known to BirdLife International.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Although the site is designated a Hunting Reserve, illegal hunting occurs. Other threats include pollution caused by effluent from the town of Korba and human disturbance. The lagoon is one of the main sites included in the Medwet coastal project.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Lagunes de Korba (Tunisia). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/lagunes-de-korba-iba-tunisia on 23/11/2024.
