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The site was identified as important in 2001 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
Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus	LC	winter	-	600-7,000 individuals	A4i
Red-necked Nightjar Caprimulgus ruficollis	NT	breeding	1999	present	A3
Eurasian Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia	LC	winter	-	200-1,000 individuals	A4i
Eurasian Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus	NT	winter	-	10,000-20,000 individuals	A4i
Grey Plover Pluvialis squatarola	VU	winter	-	1,000-32,500 individuals	A4i
Common Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula	LC	winter	-	3,000-10,000 individuals	A4i
Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrinus	LC	winter	1993	5,000-10,000 individuals	A4i
Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata	NT	winter	-	800-6,000 individuals	A4i
Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica	NT	winter	-	2,000-5,000 individuals	A4i
Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa	NT	winter	-	2,000-7,000 individuals	A4i
Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres	NT	winter	-	600-4,000 individuals	A4i
Curlew Sandpiper Calidris ferruginea	VU	winter	-	3,000-9,625 individuals	A4i
Dunlin Calidris alpina	NT	winter	-	125,000 individuals	A4i
Little Stint Calidris minuta	LC	winter	-	5,000-8,000 individuals	A4i
Common Redshank Tringa totanus	LC	winter	-	40,000 individuals	A4i
Slender-billed Gull Larus genei	LC	winter	-	1,000-2,500 individuals	A4i
Yellow-legged Gull Larus michahellis	LC	winter	-	600-8,000 individuals	A4i
Common Gull-billed Tern Gelochelidon nilotica	LC	breeding	-	250-400 breeding pairs	A4i
Sandwich Tern Thalasseus sandvicensis	LC	winter	-	1,000-3,000 individuals	A4i
Temminck's Lark Eremophila bilopha	LC	resident	1999	present	A3
Sardinian Warbler Curruca melanocephala	LC	resident	1999	present	A3
Spectacled Warbler Curruca conspicillata	LC	resident	1999	present	A3
Spotless Starling Sturnus unicolor	LC	resident	1999	present	A3
Black-eared Wheatear Oenanthe hispanica	LC	breeding	1999	present	A3
Buff-rumped Wheatear Oenanthe moesta	LC	resident	1999	present	A3
Black Wheatear Oenanthe leucura	LC	resident	1999	present	A3
A4iii Species group - waterbirds	n/a	winter	-	100,000-499,999 individuals	A4iii

1. The current IUCN Red List category. The category at the time of the IBA criteria assessment (2001) may differ.

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2001. The most recent assessment (2009) is shown below.

State (condition of the trigger species' populations)
Species	Reference	Actual	Units	% remaining	Result
Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus	1,325	3,968	individuals	100	favourable
Eurasian Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia	120	185	individuals	100	favourable
Grey Plover Pluvialis squatarola	2,500	3,690	individuals	100	favourable
Common Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula	730	99	individuals	14	very unfavourable
Charadrius alexandrinus	660	3,168	individuals	100	favourable
Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata	8,500	2,950	individuals	35	very unfavourable
Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica	1,200	251	individuals	21	very unfavourable
Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres	1,500	368	individuals	25	very unfavourable
Curlew Sandpiper Calidris ferruginea	10,000	4,580	individuals	46	unfavourable
Dunlin Calidris alpina	13,300	50,800	individuals	100	favourable
Little Stint Calidris minuta	2,000	18,200	individuals	100	favourable
Common Redshank Tringa totanus	2,500	11,600	individuals	100	favourable
Slender-billed Gull Larus genei	1,700	982	individuals	58	unfavourable

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Biological resource use	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	slow but significant deterioration	medium
Human intrusions and disturbance	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	slow but significant deterioration	medium
Energy production and mining	likely in short term (within 4 years)	some of area/population (10-49%)	slow but significant deterioration	medium
Climate change and severe weather	likely in long term (beyond 4 years)	majority/most of area/population (50-90%)	slow but significant deterioration	medium

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	A management plan exists but it is out of date or not comprehensive	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
1979	Kneiss iles	Wetland Zone of National Importance	36
1993	Kneiss iles	Nature Reserve	100
2001	Kneiss iles	Specially Protected Areas of Mediterranean Importance (Barcelona Convention)	36
2007	Kneiss iles	Ramsar Site, Wetland of International Importance	36

The Local Conservation Group(s) listed below are working to conserve this IBA.

Name	Year formed
AAO/ Sfax Regional Branch	2000

For more information on BirdLife's work with Local Conservation Groups, please click here.

Land use	% of IBA
nature conservation and research	-

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Îles Kneiss (Tunisia). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/îles-kneiss-iba-tunisia on 23/11/2024.