Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
The site is a large, shallow, wetland depression 17 km long and 2.5 km wide in the eastern Bahira basin, between the villages of Beguerir and Al Qal’a des Sraghna. Due to large-scale water extraction and lowering of the water-table, the site is now mainly fed by rainfall and run-off. It can be flooded for 2–4 months each year, particularly in the northern sector, and periods of flooding alternate with dry periods. The soil is salty clay, and erosion lines of run-off, and livestock and human tracks, scour its surface—the latter attesting to heavy usage outside periods of flooding. The natural vegetation consists of halophytic steppe. Around the edges of the sebkha, cultivation is increasing and gradually reducing the area of the wetland through drainage: the sebkha itself is used as rough sheep-pasture during dry periods. The climate is arid with mild winters.
See Box for key species. In wet years the site can attract up to 4,000 wintering waterbirds of c.20 species. Waders are common, while up to 800
Anas crecca and 100
Tadorna ferruginea have been recorded, together with small numbers (up to 15) of the globally threatened
Marmaronetta angustirostris. Up to 100
Phoenicopterus ruber and
Grus grus have also been observed.
Non-bird biodiversity: None known to BirdLife International
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The site has no legal protection and is a priority 3 SIBE (No. H31). The major threat appears to be overgrazing during dry periods by large numbers of sheep. The creation of a reserve covering at least part of the Sahb is strongly recommended.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Sahb al Majnoun (Morocco). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/sahb-al-majnoun-iba-morocco on 23/11/2024.
