Data Zone
Country/territory: Tunisia
IBA criteria met: A4i (2001)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 580 hectares (5.80 km2)
| IBA conservation status | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year of assessment (most recent) | State (condition) | Pressure (threat) | Response (action) |
| 2009 | good | high | low |
| For more information about IBA monitoring, please click here | |||
Site description (2001 baseline)
The site is situated 14 km south-west of Skhira and 30 km north-west of the town of Gabès. It comprises a sebkhet (about 380 ha), an intertidal area (about 200 ha) and the part of Oued Rimth that crosses Sebkhet Dreïaa and ends into the Gulf of Gabès. The intertidal area is overgrown with Zostera and near the shoreline there is an abundant growth of Halocnemum, Atriplex, Phragmites spp. and Juncus maritimus. Further inland, the vegetation is more sparse and essentially consists of Arthrocnemum sp. while parts of the sebkhet are unvegetated.
Key biodiversity
See Box and Table 2 for key species. The area is also important for wintering and passage waterbirds, with up to 100 Phalacrocorax carbo, 35–50 Egretta garzetta, 150–200 Platalea leucorodia, 200–250 Tadorna tadorna, 1,400 Anas penelope, 100 A. acuta, Grus grus, Haematopus ostralegus, 7,000–8,000 Calidris alpina, 700 Numenius arquata, 1,070 Tringa totanus, 300–350 Larus fuscus in winter, and breeding Larus cachinnans, Sterna albifrons and, perhaps, some S. hirundo. Up to 14,000 waterbirds occur. In addition, seven species of the Mediterranean North Africa biome (A01) have been recorded (see Table 2).
Non-bird biodiversity: None known to BirdLife International.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Sebkhet Dreiaâ (Tunisia). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/sebkhet-dreiaâ-iba-tunisia on 27/12/2024.