|
Location:
22o00´- 23o50´N, 35o00´- 37o00´E, south-east corner
of the Eastern Desert of Egypt.
Area:
35,600 km2
Type:
Natural Reserve, National Park
Year of establishment:
1985
Objective:
Protecting the unique habitat and rich biodiversity.
Management:
The Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA)
Geographical aspects:
The Elba Protectorate is an extensive and complex area
comprising a number of ecosystems: The mangroves of
the Red Sea, the Red Sea 22 islands, coral reefs, coastal
sand dunes, coastal salt marshes, coastal desert plains
and a cluster of coastal mountains (Jabal Elba, Jabal
Ebruq and Al Daeeb). Jabal Elba is the single igneous
mountain rising up to 1437m. Its summit is a "mist
oasis" where a considerable part of precipitation
is contributed in the form of dew or mist and clouds,
creating unique and rare ecosystem not found anywhere
else in Egypt.
Flora:
The abundance of moisture allows an exceptionally diverse
flora to exist. Some 458 species are known from the
reserve. Ferns, mosses and succulents are fairly common
in the mist zone at higher altitudes. Biscutella elbensis
is endemic to Gebel Elba. At lower altitudes, in mountain
wadis and foothills, there is dense parkland dominated
by Acacia tortilis, Delonix elata, Aerva persica and
Euphorbia cuneata. Salt-marsh vegetation and mangrove
swamps fringe long stretches of the coast.
Fauna:
Jabal Elba supports a rich faunal diversity unparalleled
in any other desert environment in Egypt. Forty species
of birds, several of these are Afrotropical, Ostrich
Struthio camelus and Lappet face Vulture Torgos tracheliotus
are still found in the Gebel Elba area though they have
disappeared from most of their former North Africa/Middle-eastern
range. Twenty three species of mammals including the
endangered sea cow Dugong dugon, thirty species of reptiles
and only one amphibian species.
|
