Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
A large, but temporary, inland wetland lying south-east of Safi near the town of Chemaia, Sebkha Zima lies in a depression and is fed by several rain-dependent streams. The substrate is saline, with around 40% of the bed of the sebkha given over to saltpans, and the wetland is surrounded by a belt of halophytic vegetation. During wet periods a thick cover of filamentous algae develops on soil surfaces, attracting large numbers of waterbirds. However, the Sebkha is often dry by the end of June. Average annual precipitation is 150–200 mm.
See Box for key species. In wet years Sebkha Zima can attract up to 10,000 wintering waterbirds. Several ducks are regularly seen in flocks numbering over 1,000, including
Anas penelope,
Anas clypeata,
Tadorna tadorna and
Anas acuta. Waders such as
Calidris and
Tringa spp. also visit and winter, as do flocks of
Larus spp. numbering several hundred. Only a few species breed, among them
Charadrius alexandrinus,
Himantopus himantopus and
Gelochelidon nilotica.
Non-bird biodiversity: None known to BirdLife International.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The site is a priority 2 SIBE (No. H30). It has no legal protection and is threatened by the expansion of industrial salt-extraction, which is largely mechanized. Recommended conservation measures include limiting this expansion and restricting access to parts of the site during the breeding season to reduce disturbance of nesting birds.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Sebkha Zima (Morocco). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/sebkha-zima-iba-morocco on 22/11/2024.
