Assifs Réghaya-Aït Mizane
- Country:Morocco
- Site number:2371
- Area:830 ha
- Designation date:16-04-2019
- Coordinates:31°09'N 07°56'W
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
The Site is located on the northern slope of Jbel Toubkal, the highest mountain in North Africa. It includes a permanent river, Oued Réghaya, and further upstream a fresh and fast-flowing mountain stream, Assif n’Aît Mizane, each classified among the Sites of Biological and Ecological Interest of Morocco. The land cover varies as it descends, from woody steppe on mountain schist to a dense forest and Mediterranean shrublands overlooking the lower stretch. The rocky course of the river features water- and riverbank plants, innumerable cultivated terraces and orchards. This permanent river ecosystem, very rare in North Africa, is rich in wildlife. There are at least 42 aquatic or semi-aquatic plant species; 70 aquatic invertebrates, of which at least 20 are endemic to the locality; 90 species of riparian invertebrates, and at least 15 species of regionally rare vertebrates, such as the endemic threatened fish Luciobarbus issenensis. The social and cultural importance of the Site relates to local practices including a traditional irrigation management model. The Site is threatened by the presence of invasive species as well as by water abstraction and recreational and tourism activities. A monitoring plan is proposed for water quality, birds and other animal species.
Administrative region:
Région Marrakech
- National legal designation:
- Parc National - Toubkal (incluant Assif n'Aït Mizane)
- Sites d'Intérêt Biologique et Ecologique - - Assif n'Aït Mizane - Oued Réghaya
- Last publication date:23-07-2019
Downloads
Ramsar Information Sheet (RIS)
Site map
Additional reports and documents
- Site management plan
- Other published literature