Côte Aftissate-Boujdour

Ramsar site in Western Sahara
25°48′N 14°35′W / 25.800°N 14.583°W / 25.800; -14.583Area11,700 ha (45 sq mi)DesignationRamsar site, Wetland of International Importance[1]Designated16 April 2019

The Côte Aftissate-Boujdour is a Ramsar site that stretches along 50 kilometres (31 mi) of the Western Sahara coast south of Boujdour. It includes the fishing village of Aftissat.

Location

The Côte Aftissate-Boujdour is located in Jraifia commune, Boujdour Province in the Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra region.[2] The protected area covers 117 square kilometres (45 sq mi).[1] It extends along the Atlantic coast for 50 kilometres (31 mi). The site was designated on 16 April 2019. Along this section of the coast a beach and mobile dunes separate the sea from a continuous low-lying furrow of land below a 70 metres (230 ft) high sea cliff.[2]

Ecology

The Côte Aftissate-Boujdour is at the southern edge of the Palearctic ecozone. The climate is strongly influenced by coastal upwelling.[2] The wetland is a resting area for Palearctic seabirds, waders and land migrants, and for passerines in particular. Over 1% of the biogeographic population of species such as the lesser black-backed gull (Larus fuscus) are found in the wetland in winter. The dry area is home to the endemic gecko Saurodactylus brosseti and other rare and endemic species.[3]

Notes

Sources

  • "Côte Aftissate-Boujdour", Protected Planet, retrieved 2021-10-23
  • "Côte Aftissate-Boujdour", Ramsar Sites Information Service, retrieved 2021-10-23
  • "Twelve new Ramsar sites for Morocco", Smart Water Magazine, 3 September 2019, retrieved 2021-10-23
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Boujdour Province
Capital: Boujdour
Municipalities
  • Boujdour
Cabo Bojador lighthouse
Rural communes
  • Guelta Zemmur
  • Jraifia
  • Lemseid
Other locations
  • Aftissat (village, wind farm)
  • Agti el Ghazi (village)
  • Boujdour Lighthouse (lighthouse)
  • Cape Bojador (cape)
  • Côte Aftissate-Boujdour (Ramsar site)
  • Zaouiat Ahmed Ben Yaddas (religious site)