Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
The site comprises the proposed Wildlife Reserve of Raas Xaafuun (Ras Hajan) and the contiguous proposed Raas Gumbax (Raas Gubah, Raas Gubba) National Park. It is located in the north-east of the country, on the coast between the towns of Bandarbeyla and Bargaal. The site, centred around the large headland of Raas Xaafuun which projects eastwards for over 50 km into the Indian Ocean, includes areas of rocky coastline, sandy beaches and some mangrove, giving way inland to lowland plains supporting an arid
Chrysopogon–
Dactyloctenium savanna with a few low, woody plants. The Daror valley, through which runs the seasonal watercourse of Dhud Jaceyl and drains a large area of the Horn, reaches the ocean at Raas Xaafuun.
See Box and Tables 2 and 3 for key species. In addition to the species listed below,
Phalacrocorax nigrogularis has been recorded at this site and
Sterna saundersi breeds. Although, to date, a relatively small number only of Somali–Masai biome species have been recorded, these include several which occur nationally at few other IBAs, while the list is undoubtedly incomplete. The waters around the headland of Ras Xaafuun are believed to be an important migration bottleneck for seabirds on passage, while the littoral is thought to support large numbers of waders on migration. There are, however, no count data.
Non-bird biodiversity: Among mammals, both Gazella soemmerringii (VU) and G. spekei (VU) have been recorded.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The southern part has been proposed as a National Park and the remainder as a Wildlife Reserve. The coastline and shallow waters of this site are potentially at risk from marine pollution from tankers heading to or coming from the Gulf of Aden.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Raas Xaafuun - Raas Gumbax (Somalia). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/raas-xaafuun--raas-gumbax-iba-somalia on 23/11/2024.
