Marais de la Mekhada
- Country:Algeria
- Site number:1301
- Area:8,900 ha
- Designation date:06-04-2003
- Coordinates:36°47'N 08°00'E
Materials presented on this website, particularly maps and territorial information, are as-is and as-available based on available data and do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
Overview
A mostly freshwater marsh in an alluvial basin of the Mafragh plain, with a brackish downstream part where it meets the Mediterranean Sea through a narrow opening. The basin is from 50 centimetres to one metre deep, and emergent vegetation consisting of Phragmites communis, Typha angustifolia and Glyceria fluitans covers more than 80% of its surface. The area is important as a nesting and wintering site for ducks and coots; it serves as a nesting site for the endangered white-headed duck Oxyura leucocephala and the ferruginous duck Aythya nyroca. Four species are considered to surpass the 1% threshold: Oxyura leucocephala, the greylag goose Anser anser, the Eurasian wigeon Anas penelope, and the gadwall Anas strepera. In summer, cattle pass through the marsh; some of its banks are used for agriculture, and the Site is used for traditional fishing of eel and other fish. Overgrazing is seen as a potential threat, especially in times of drought.
Administrative region:
El Tarf
- Last publication date:09-05-2019