Côte Aftissate-Boujdour Explained

Côte Aftissate-Boujdour
Map:Western Sahara
Relief:y
Coordinates:25.8°N -49°W
Area Ha:11700
Designation:Ramsar site, Wetland of International Importance
Designated:16 April 2019

The Côte Aftissate-Boujdour is a Ramsar site that stretches along 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. The protected area covers . It extends along the Atlantic coast for . 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 high sea cliff.

Ecology

The Côte Aftissate-Boujdour is at the southern edge of the Palearctic ecozone.The climate is strongly influenced by coastal upwelling.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.