• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Map
• Reference and further resources

Site description (2000 baseline)
A large tract of the south-west Italian Alps, from Punta Marguaréis to Monviso. The area is divided into three sites: (1) Alta Valle Pesio e Tanaro (Nature Park), (2) Alpi Marittime (Nature Park) including Media e Alta Valle Stura and Alta Valle Gesso, and (3) Alta Valle Varaita. The main habitats are coniferous and broadleaved woodlands, glaciers and rocky areas, and alpine grasslands. Cattle-breeding and tourism are the main economic activities for local people.

Key biodiversity
The site supports good breeding numbers of some raptors and gamebirds, as well as five of the ten species of the Eurasian high-montane biome. The locality `Media e Alta Valle Stura' is an important `bottleneck' for migrating raptors (2,900-3,200 per autumn), mainly Pernis apivorus (2,000-3,000). Species of global conservation concern that do not meet IBA criteria: Aquila clanga (max. 1, passage).

Attributes
Raptors MOU - IBA listed under Table 3 of the Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation of Migratory Birds of Prey in Africa and Eurasia

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Maritime Alps (Italy). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/maritime-alps-iba-italy on 22/11/2024.