Current view: Text account
Site description (2000 baseline):
Site location and context
The site includes coastal mountains with dry vegetation and an area of saltpans, that supports steppe vegetation. The main human activities are arable and livestock-farming, salt production and tourism.
Breeding birds include four of the 20 species in Europe that are restricted to the Mediterranean biome (when breeding).
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Threats include sand extraction, building and tourism development. There are also problems caused by overgrazing and agricultural intensification. The regional government has management plans for the protected areas.
National Partial
International Partial38,000 ha of IBA covered by Natural Park (Cabo de Gata-Nijar, 38,000 ha). 300 ha of IBA covered by Ramsar Site (Salinas del Cabo de Gata, 300 ha). 30,000 ha of IBA covered by Special Protection Area (Cabo de Gata-Níjar, 30,000 ha).
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Mountain range and saltpans at Cabo de Gata (Spain). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/mountain-range-and-saltpans-at-cabo-de-gata-iba-spain on 23/12/2024.
