Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
Located on the Atlantic coast, 24 km south of El Jadida, the southern part of this 400 ha site consists of consolidated sandstone cliffs up to 56 m high, whilst the northern part is comprised of a rocky plateau up to 300 m wide, intercut by creeks and sand- and pebble-beaches. The surface of this plateau contains many shallow hollowed-out basins 1–4 m deep, filled with marshy vegetation. The sparse terrestrial vegetation of the site consists mainly of scattered bushes of
Lycium intricatum. However, seaweeds (Laminariaceae) grow in profusion at the foot of the cliffs, including
Chorda filum,
Alaria sp.,
Agarum oibrosum,
Laminarium digitata and
Laminaria agardhii. The abundant invertebrate fauna includes polychaetes such as
Marphysa sanguinea,
Clymenella sp. and
Amphitrite sp., oligochaetes and bivalve molluscs such as
Mytilus edulis and
Modiolus modiolus. The site is bordered inland by uncultivated fields and a tarmac road, and to the north by the village of Moulay Abdellah.
See Box for key species. The site is an important wintering and migratory staging-post, offering as it does abundant food-sources for waders and other waterbirds. At least 38 species have been recorded, including (in 1993) a single
Numenius tenuirostris.
Arenaria interpres is regularly present in large numbers, while
Larus audouinii is often present in small numbers. An important nesting population of
Apus pallidus breeds in the cliffs, but has never been censused/studied.
Non-bird biodiversity: The site has a high diversity of reptiles and amphibians—16 species have been recorded, of which four are endemic.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The site is a priority 2 SIBE (No. L23). Conservation threats so far identified include pollution from an industrial phosphate complex located at the southern end of the site; the dumping of household waste, sewage and construction rubble from the cliffs; disturbance of birds by fishermen; the illegal capture and sale of birds of prey; and the degradation of the seaweed beds by over-quarrying of the rock platform. Protected-area status and legislation are urgently needed, together with the implementation of an action plan to safeguard the site.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Région Jorf Lasfar (Morocco). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/région-jorf-lasfar-iba-morocco on 24/11/2024.
