NAME Massa NP (including the réserve d'Oued Massa and the proposed new royal hunting reserve of the Dunes de Cereyse)

MANAGEMENT CATEGORY

II (National Park in process of being established);

I (Strict Reserve - Réserve Biologique)

BIOGEOGRAPHICAL PROVINCE 2.28.11 (Atlas Steppe)

GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION The site is located on the Atlantic coast in south-west Morocco, between Inezgane par Agadir in the north and Tiznit in the south. The park lies in the provinces of Agadir and Tiznit, in the circles des Inezgane, Biougra and Tiznit, and the military districts of Ait Melloul, Belfaa, Massa and Rasmouka. The rural communities of Ait Melloul, Sidi Bibi, Inchaden, Massa and El Guerdane are also found within the park bounds. Its northern boundary is the Oued Souss from its intersection with the main highway, RP30, at Ait Melloul, to the Atlantic Ocean. The eastern border follows the RP30 from Oued Souss southwards to Tiznit. The south-west border follows route 7062 from Tiznit to Sidi Moussa on the coast. The west boundary is coastal and marine and follows a line parallel to the coast 5km out to sea. 30*02'N, 09*40'W

DATE AND HISTORY OF ESTABLISHMENT The area around the Oued Massa was originally established as a réserve biologique in 1962 under a Ministry of Agriculture decree. The site has yet to be officially established as a national park under new park legislation (WWF, 1987). In 1979 and 1982 the l'Administration des Eaux et Forêts, L'Institut Scientifique, IUCN and WWF carried out projects to identify different regions with representative and threatened flora and fauna. As a result of this, Project IUCN/WWF 3063 was set up with the aim of establishing a national park at Massa. This park is planned to be the first of a new series of protected area and the first national park in Morocco where an attempt will be made to incorporate both tourism and recreational activities. This project was launched in November 1981, however, in spring 1984 it was reported that none of the park plans had yet been put into effect. In January 1988 it was still awaiting formal approval and passage of new legislation by the government. The designation and establishment is being seen as a 'test case' for the future re-organization of the existing national parks and the creation of new protected areas.

The estuary of the Oued Massa was classed as a biological reserve in the Ministry of Agriculture decree of 7 May 1980 (originally established in 1962 under the decree of 3 November 1962). A royal hunting preserve was being established in the north of the park adjacent to Oued Souss in 1985-1988. The palace and a new water treatment plant will occupy approximately 1,200-1,300ha of the park (National Park Service, 1987).

AREA 72,000ha (of which 42,000ha is the core area). Oued Massa biological reserve covers 460ha all of which was fenced in 1982 (Drucker,1986). In July 1985 reports suggested that the proposed national park was to cover 48,000ha. Although exact figures have still to be determined, in 1987, the park area was projected at 72,000ha with 42,000ha under strict protection (Drucker,1986; National Park Service, 1987). A total of 30,000ha are to be permanent reserves to protect the northern bald ibis Geronticus eremita, its breedingcolonies and feeding areas (WWF, 1987).

LAND TENURE The central proposed national park has 12,400ha (25%) in forestry ownership, 11,570ha (23%) in collective ownership and 24,100ha (52%) in private ownership.

ALTITUDE From sea-level to 70m, some 25km inland from the coast. The Souss valley and plains vary from 8m to 150m.

PHYSICAL FEATURES The landscape of Massa consists of a vast coastal plain with two important coastal estuaries (Oued Massa and Souss). It is encircled by the Anti-Atlas mountain chain in the north and the Atlantic sea to the west. The area largely consists of littoral dunes, alluvial material, sandstones and Quaternary sand-dune deposits. The two rivers Oued Massa, 600m wide and 3km long, and Oued Sous which have been dammed beyond the bounds of the proposed park, now rarely have fresh running water. The mouth of the Oued Sous has some fresh-water but is little more than a marshy estuary open to the sea. Oued Massa has been naturally silted up at the mouth and the remaining enclosed water is slowly becoming brackish. Along the northern edge there are some salt marshes, as well as 10km of fresh-water marshes (National Park Service, 1987).

CLIMATE The site has a Mediterranean semi-arid to arid bioclimatic stage which is ameliorated by the humidity from the sea and protected by the Anti-Atlas mountain shield from the heat of the Sahara. There is a coastal fog in the summer which provides moisture equivalent to 200mm of rainfall (in addition to average rainfall figures of 244mm per year). Temperatures do not drop below 10*C in winter and there is a maximum of 27*C in summer (National Park Service, 1987).

VEGETATION The low-lying coastal terrain now consists of many scattered water lagoons and sand spits dominated by Typha angustifolia, Juncus aculatus, Salicornia spp., Arthrocnemum glaucum and Tamarix spp., as typified along the northern edge of the Oued Massa. A long stretch of dunes, such as at the steppe of Daghmous along the western boundary of the park, includes the dune species Cyperus kallii, Lotus credicus, Polycarpia nivea, Ononis natrix and Frankenia spp. Inland are Eucalyptus plantations, tree savannah of argan forest Argania spinosa (A. sideroxylon) merging into stands of woody cactoid species, Euphorbia resinifera, E. echinus, E. regis-jubac, E. bolmarane and Kleinia anteuphorbium. The high atmospheric humidity and mild climate has resulted in thriving relict Macaronesian type flora. Much of the area is non-halophilous succulent steppe, which in the whole of North Africa is restricted to the Atlantic coast of Morocco and Mauritania (Le Houérou, 1986). Characteristic species include Aizoon theurkauffi, Euphorbia balsamifera, Kalanchoe faustii, Senecio anteuphorbium and Zygophyllum waterlotti (Le Houérou, 1986). By far the largest area of semi-natural vegetation at Massa is the steppe-like garigue consisting of Ononis spp., Retama monosperma, Limonium sinvatum, L. credicus and Erodium spp. (Drucker, 1986).

FAUNA The waters are rich in aquatic life with large numbers of Rana perezi, green toad Bufo viridis, terrapin Clemmys caspica and the invertebrates Gambusia affinis, Palaemonetes varians and Naucoris spp. A survey of the herpetofauna of the Massa area recorded 25 reptiles and amphibians including the tortoise Testudo graeca (lists recorded by Mellado, 1986). The butterflies include a number of palaeo-endemic species relict from the Tertiaryperiod. Threatened butterfly species include the Spanish festoon Zerythia rumina, Mediterranean tiger blue Taracus rosaceus, desert orange tip Colotis evagore and Mediterranean skipper Gegenes nostrodamus (Drucker, pers. comm. 1986).

Recorded mammals include ratel Mellivora capensis, wildcat Felis sylvestris libyca, mongoose Herpestes ichneumon, Sandvall's African leaf-nosed bat Hipposideros caffer, Barbary ground squirrel Atlantoxerus getulus, North African elephant shrew Elephantulus rozeti, Hoogstraal's gerbil Gerbillus hoogstraali, Barbary striped mouse Lemniscomys barbarus and wild boar Sus scrofa. The otter Lutra lutra has been sighted but is extremely uncommon. The Cuvier's gazelle Gazella cuvieri is no longer present in the region (Hirsch, 1981; see full list by Aulagnier et Thevenot, 1987).

The park is of particular importance for its rich assemblage of sedentary and migratary bird fauna - to date 275 species have been recorded. Typical species found on the coast include the stork Ciconia ciconia, little egret Egretta garzetta, three species of heron, terns Sterna, rollers Coracias garrulus, bee-eaters Merops apiaster and swallow Hirundo rustica. Vast flocks of migratory wildfowl from Europe appear in winter around the mouth of the Oued Massa. Up to 4,000 ducks especially pintail Anas acuta, shoveller A. clypeata and pochard Aythya ferina (1,690) are attracted to this wetland area. Other species include the coot Fulica atra (up to 16,000 in 1979), oystercatcher Haematropus ostralegus, common crane Grus grus, great crested grebe Podiceps cristatus, grey heron Ardea cinerea, marbled teal Anas angustirostris (100 in 1977; 72 in 1980) and ruddy shelduck Tadorna ferruginea (Beaubrun et Thevenot, 1983; Beaubrun et Thevenot, 1984). The disused saltpans are haven to breeding black-winged stilt Himantopus himantopus, small numbers of other waders, migrating little egret Egretta garzetta, the occasional black stork Ciconia nigra and glossy ibis Plegadis falcinellus. In 1980 a large colony of the Atlantic race of the cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo subspp. maroccanus was discovered in the Massa region, numbering 60-80 pairs. The Oued Souss estuary has small numbers of wintering waders and a 1973 record of the infrequently recorded slender-billed curlew Numenius tenuirostris. This site is, however, also important for spoonbills Platalea leucordia of Dutch origin (32 observed in 1984) and for flamingo Phoenicopterus ruber (2,000). The threatened Audouin's gull Larus audouinii (27 in 1978) has been sighted on the marshes as has the osprey Pandion haliaetus. In the steppe and Euphorbia scrub may be seen the great grey shrike Lanius excubitor, Sardinian warbler Sylvia melanocephala, chiff-chaff Phylloscopus collybita, Moussier's redstart Phoenicurus moussieri and little owl Athene noctua. The driest areas are habitats for the cream-coloured courser Cursorius cursor, stone curlew Burhinus oedicnemus, little bustard Tetrax tetrax and houbara bustard Chlamydotis undulata. Also recorded in the park are the double-spurred francolin Francolinus bicalcaratus and Arabian bustard Ardeotis arabs, both of which are restricted to Morocco (Hirsch, 1981). The coastal cliffs are refuge for the endemic African plains sand martin Riparia paludicola, for the threatened Eleonora's falcon Falco eleanora, lanner falcon F. biarmicus and the endangered northern bald ibis Geronticus eremita. In 1982, there were 12 known bald ibis colonies in Morocco of which five of these were present within the proposed Massa national park. Some 70 per cent of the bald ibis population overwinters in the area (3 sites off the coast). In 1981 there were 35 pairs and 111 birds present and by 1982 the national park held five colonies with 57 pairs and a total of 183 birds. Subsequently a further increase in the population was noted and by April 1984 the five colonies around Massa held about 220 birds. By 1986 there were only three colonies and a total number of 360 birds but fewer breeding pairs; one of the colonies had been destroyed by rockfall collapses (Collar and Stuart, 1985). The population was again on the decline in1987 (Hirsch, pers. comm. 1987).

CULTURAL HERITAGE As of July 1985 there were 568 cliff dwellings which had been excavated along the coast between Sidi Toual and Sidi Moussa (National Park Service, 1987). There is limited evidence of Palaeolithic settlements and numerous surface finds in the park, mainly between Oued Massa and Sidi Moussa (dating from 20,000BC; potsherds have been dated from 800BC (Hirsch, pers. comm. 1987).

Legends are told of how Jonah was swallowed by a large fish or whale and later released onto an abandoned beach near the mouth of the Oued Massa. Jonah subsequently begat a family there, the tribe of Ait Yonnes.

An annual festival, Moussem, at Sidi R'bat includes a ceremony where pilgrims enter the river to kiss the shoulder of the Sidi el Ghaziz stone - an ancient fertility rite. Another moussem occurs on the first Thursday in August at Sidi Ouassai - the festival of Al Manggar (Drucker, pers. comm. 1987).

There are numerous koubbas (shrines), marabouts, mosques and cemeteries found along the coast at Sidi Ouassai, Sidi Touai, Sidi Salah, Sidi R'bat and Sidi Ali-Ou-Brahim. Sunken ships dating from the World War II period lie off the coast. Traditional village communities still occur in the park such as at the fishing settlement of Tifnit.

LOCAL HUMAN POPULATION No inhabitants are found within the strict reserves or the projected core areas but there are a number of villages in the buffer zones. A total of 1,705 people inhabit the Agadir province buffer area of the park and 20 in the Tiznit province buffer area of the park (National Park Service, 1987). The population density of the proposed national park is reported to be increasing, with an inevitable expansion of the cultivated areas. Agadir town had a total resident population of 61,200 which is swelled annually by foreign tourists (National Park Service, 1987). Agriculture is the most intense use of land (cereal crops) along with livestock grazing and some coastal fishing. There was an estimated 13,000 head of livestock in 1982 (National Park Service, 1987).

VISITORS AND VISITOR FACILITIES The major tourist resort of Agadir, with 425,000 visitors in 1985, is just to the north of the national park boundary and it is anticipated to be the main centre for the majority of the park visitors. In 1985, 40 per cent of the national income from tourism came from the Agadir resort (National Park Service, 1987). Plans exist for the construction of a museum/ecology centre at Inezgane, but otherwise there are currently few existing or proposed facilities within the park (Drucker, pers. comm. 1987).

SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND FACILITIES The Institut Scientifique has undertaken a number of ornithological and mammalogical surveys. An inventory of herpetofauna has been undertaken by the Estacion Experimental de Zonas Aridas of Almeria, Spain (Mellado, 1986). The WWF/IUCN consultant, U. Hirsch has been studying the bald ibis since the 1970s to ensure their conservation (Hirsch, pers. comm. 1987). The US National Park Service, along with wildlife biologists of the U.S. Peace Corps, have prepared draft master plan documents, studied the national park ecology and constructed a wildlife inventory ((National Park Service, 1987; Posner, pers. comm. 1987).

CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT The national park is of international importance asa refuge for a unique assemblege of fauna and flora, particularly for its northern bald ibis colony. The park is also of international importance for its wintering palaearctic waterfowl and endemic fauna species. The Oued Massa fresh-water wetland is significant as a migratory staging post with records of common crane Grus grus, marbled teal Anas angustirostris and ruddy shelduck Tadorna ferruginea. The flora is almost unique in mainland Africa and includes many Macaronesian-Tertiary period palaeo-endemics.

With regard to the conservation of the northern bald ibis, a master plan was established for the country as a whole and resulted in a proposal for the creation of a national park at Massa. The area of the proposed park holds the majority of the world's breeding bald ibis pairs and is also the major wintering area for this species.

The core of the national park is centred on the Oued Massa and extends 65km north-south and 10-15km east-west. The Oued Massa biological reserve was specifically created as a protected feeding and resting area for migratory birds. Some 30,000ha of permanent reserves have been established to protect the northern bald ibis breeding colonies and their feeding areas, which are superficially guarded by wardens of the Service des Eaux et Forêts (WWF 1985-1986; Drucker, pers. comm. 1986). Park projects include the intention to introduce dorcas gazelle Gazella dorcas and Cuvier's gazelle Gazella cuvieri into the enclosures at Massa. Another candidate for re-introduction is the houbara bustard Chlamydotis undulata (Posner, pers. comm. 1987).

A master plan has now been produced, and a map showing the ownership pattern for the area has been presented to the Ministry of Agriculture, with the result that it is expected that the national park will be declared before the end of 1988. The park objectives include :-

%setting aside protected areas of unique habitat for threatened and endangered wildlife species including the unique argan forests and euphorbia communities;

%encouraging research and conservation programmes and activities that will aid, develop and foster research, protection management and the understanding of semi-arid and coastal/marine environments. The establishment of a resource data base for management decisions is a high priority;

%providing areas for the preservation and enhancement of natural and cultural resources (including the re-introduction of native species of flora and fauna);

%planning and managing the area in ways that respect and incorporate traditional cultural values of the indigenous people;

%providing information, education, visitor services and facilities to permit visitors, both local and foreign tourists, to understand and use the park resources without deleterious impacts on the environment;

%developing co-ordinated management policies;

%developing a resource management plan (National Park Service, 1987).

Once established, the national park is envisaged as consisting of three zones:- a natural reserve zone where the environment and species of flora and fauna are fully protected and where human exploitation is prohibited; a zone of traditional utilization which is equally protected, but where traditional agro-sylvopastoral practices will be permitted; and a zone of development corresponding to the population centres and areas of soil conservation (Posner pers. comm. 1987; Hirsch, pers. comm. 1987). A proposed series of six natural protected area sub-zones will include the Oued Souss reserve, Oued Massa reserve, bald ibis reserve, gazelle reserve, argan reserve and euphorbia forest reserve (National Park Service,1987). The proposed gazelle reserve will consist of three areas, one in the extreme north, a small area in the central region and one along the coast in the southern section of the park. There are also two traditional-use zones along the eastern boundary of the proposed national park in the north and in the extreme south. The specialists involved in IUCN/WWF project No. 3063 have been actively seeking the establishment of the national park since 1981/1982. The Netherland WWF, as part of the Save the Migratory Birds programme, has donated $40,600 towards the creation of the park, with the prime purpose of safeguarding local and migratory species, as well as for the re-introduction of the gazelles. The WWF aid package is in the form of technical assistance for the development and management of the park. It has also provided for a four-wheel drive vehicle (delivered in 1986), three or four all-purpose motorcycles, four radio-sets, binoculars and telescopes, a boat to ease access to the Oued Massa, 20km of fencing and material for afforestation work and production of bird books and other educational material (WWF, 1987). In addition the park director (ingenieur des Eaux et Forêts) has been given a 6-8 week period of training in Senegal (partly fulfilled by 1984), followed by a further 1-2 weeks at the Coto Donana national park in Spain and at the Tour du Valet, Camargue (Hirsch, pers. comm. 1987).

A major aim of the management programme is to protect the irrigated Souss valley from sand-blows off the coastal dunes. Following research it is proposed that sheep grazing on these dunes be stopped at certain critical dry season times and to ban it completely in sensitive areas. It has been proposed that the sheep could be replaced by gazelles, a possibility which could be enhanced by the creation of gazelle reserves. In addition, stabilization and regeneration of vegetation cover is being undertaken by the planting of tamarisk and acacia over an area of 80,000ha of dunes (National Park Service, 1987). Further objectives of the management plan include woodland protection, desertification control, agricultural development, vegetation cover maintenance, development of tourism, the promotion of sport fishing and in the peripheral zones, the exploitation of game species. Of particular importance to the conservation of the northern bald ibis is a) the prevention of the excessive use of strong pesticides; b) the provision of new nesting sites; and c) protection of the existing sites from wind erosion (Hirsch, pers. comm. 1987). At present there are proposals to dig out the saltpans in the Oued Massa, and construct channels to link the open water with the freshwater lakes, thus creating increased feeding areas for migratory species. A two year project, the Moroccan Coastal Wetlands Project Agreement (MCWP), has been signed between the Ministry of Agriculture and the International Council for Bird Preservation (ICBP). It is also funded by grants from the Netherlands Natuurmonumentum and aims to promote educational activities at a number of coastal sites, including Massa, in the near future (Verheught, pers. comm. 1988).

MANAGEMENT PROBLEMS The delay in the creation of the Massa national park has been attributed to the lack of existing legislation, which in turn was originally the result of a lack of field surveys having been completed in the area of the proposed national park. As yet, excessive over-grazing by livestock, hunting, fishing and agriculture have not been prevented although this will be altered with the establishment of park regulations (totally prevented in the core area and restricted in the buffer zone). Villages and other settlements are present in the proposed buffer zone and there is only one village within the core area, Tifnit. The two rivers Oued Massa and Oued Souss have been dammed beyond the bounds of the park. Oued Massa has been naturally blocked at the mouth and the remaining enclosed water is slowly becoming brackish (Drucker, 1986). The Oued Massa is threatened by habitat loss with the encroachment by farmers into the riparian environment. The freshwater areaand some of the adjacent land is protected as a biological reserve, but there are continuing problems arising from the fact that much of the adjacent land is currently used for agriculture, for harvesting reeds and for grazing domestic animals. Entry into the reserve is prohibited, as is fishing, and hunting (it is not known whether these regulations are being enforced). The Oued Souss estuary is threatened by a number of actions. These include the discharge of sewage into the river, habitat destruction by farming operations, the completion and expansion of a royal palace, road works, disturbance to the birdlife by fishermen, visitor pressure (beach tourists) and the use of pesticides (Posner, in litt. 1986). Tourist pressure is currently negligible yet is to be expanded with the creation of the park and could cause a threat to the ecosystem (National Park Service, 1987). No special protection has been made for the easily accessible bald ibis nests and the birds are under continual threat of disturbance and habitat loss (Drucker, pers. comm. 1987).

STAFF A park director was appointed in 1985. Two guard houses have been constructed and existing forestry houses are being used at Inezgane, Oued Massa and Rokein, and Tiznit (National Park Service, 1987).

BUDGET WWF, ICBP grants, Eaux et Forêts core funding and proposed camping and entrance fees. Funding currently available from Eaux et Forêts is not adequate to meet the needs of a Massa National Park (National Park Service, 1987).

LOCAL ADMINISTRATION Eaux et Forêts Office, Inezgane par Agadir.

REFERENCES

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Beaubrun, P. et Thevenot, M. (1984). Recensement hivernal d'oiseaux d'eau au Maroc-Janvier, 1984. Institut Scientifique, Rabat.

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Mellado, J. (1986). Massa National Park Project. Unpublished report. 10pp.

National Park Service. (1987). A proposal for development and management of Massa National Park. Prepared for the Government of the Kingdom of Morocco, Ministry of Agriculture, Department of Eaux et Forêts and the Ministry of Tourism and Commerce, Department of Tourism. By the National Park Services , US Department of the interior, February, 1987. 110pp.

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Posner, S. and Edwards, J.K. (1986). Massa National Park project tourist circuit. Report by the Eaux et Forêts/US Peace Corps., Rabat.

Posner, S. and Edwards, J.K. (1986). Massa National park project. Compartment manual. Report Eaux et Forêts, US Peace Corps.

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DATE January 1988

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