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Un programme de conservation pour l'ibis chauve (Geronticus eremita) au Maroc
Abstract
(SEO), a permis d'obtenir des résultats au niveau de la productivité et de la connaissance de l'écologie de l'espèce. La taille de la population a connu une augmentation grâce aux efforts entrepris pour assurer le succès de la reproduction. Le régime alimentaire ainsi que les sites d'alimentation convenables sont identifiés et une étude approfondie est en cours. Pour atteindre les objectifs de conservation de l'espèce, des actions restent à mener en matire de lutte contre l'expansion des constructions illégales au niveau des falaises. Ce qui se traduit pour l'espèce en perte de sites dortoir ou de nidification.
The Northern Bald Ibis is one of the most threatened birds in the world. During the Middle Ages it occurred in the Alps of central Europe and was formerly widespread from North Africa to the Middle East. Nowadays the last known wild populations are reduced to about 90 breeding birds in Morocco and a recently rediscovered colony of about three pairs in Syria. In an attempt to save the Northern Bald Ibis in Morocco, the Souss Massa National Park (PNSM) was created in 1991 to protect the most important roosting and breeding sites. In 1994 a convention was signed between the Moroccan Ministry of Water and Forests and BirdLife International to develop a conservation plan for the species. A monitoring and research programme led by the PNSM, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and the Sociedad Espanola de Ornithologia (SEO) provided information on population size, productivity and the ecology of the species. The population has started to increase over the last few years. The bird's diet and basic habitat requirements have been identified and research is continuing. In conservation terms, more needs to be done to combat illegal building on the coastal cliffs that the birds use for roosting and nesting.
Ostrich 2007, 78(2): 155–157