• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Map
• Reference and further resources

The site was identified as important in 1999 because it was regularly supporting significant populations of the species listed below, meeting ('triggering') IBA criteria.

Populations meeting IBA criteria ('trigger species') at the site:

Species	Red List1	Season	Year(s)	Size	IBA criteria
Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca	NT	winter	1999	present	A1
Purple Swamphen Porphyrio porphyrio	LC	breeding	1999	100 breeding pairs	A4i

1. The current IUCN Red List category. The category at the time of the IBA criteria assessment (1999) may differ.

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 1999. The most recent assessment (1999) is shown below.

State (condition of the trigger species' populations)
Species	Reference	Actual	Units	% remaining	Result
Purple Swamphen Porphyrio porphyrio	100	100	breeding pairs	100	favourable

State (condition of the trigger species' habitats)
Habitat	Quantity (% remaining)	Quality (% carrying capacity)	Result
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine	good (> 90%)	moderate (70-90%)	near favourable

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Human intrusions and disturbance	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	slow but significant deterioration	medium
Natural system modifications	likely in long term (beyond 4 years)	whole area/population (>90%)	slow but significant deterioration	medium
Agricultural expansion and intensification	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	no or imperceptible deterioration	low

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Protected areas	Management plan	Other action	Result
Whole area of site (>90%) covered by appropriate conservation designation	No management plan exists but the management planning process has begun	Substantive conservation measures are being implemented but these are not comprehensive and are limited by resources and capacity	medium

Year	Protected Area	Designation	% overlap with IBA
1989	Wadi El Rayan	Multiple Use Management Area	100
2005	Wadi Al-Hitan (Whale Valley)	World Heritage Site (natural or mixed)	36
2012	Wadi El Rayan Protected Area	Ramsar Site, Wetland of International Importance	100

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine		major (>10)
Desert		major (>10)

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use	% of IBA
agriculture	-
fisheries/aquaculture	-
hunting	-
nature conservation and research	-
water management	-
other	-

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Wadi El Rayan Protected Area (Egypt). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/wadi-el-rayan-protected-area-iba-egypt on 23/11/2024.