UNESCO - MAB Biosphere Reserves Directory
UNESCO - MAB Biosphere Reserves Directory
Tunisia
Zembra and Zembretta islands, located in the Gulf of Tunis in proximity to the Cap Bon peninsula, features underwater caves with traces of the monk seal which disappeared in 1975. The mix of seascape and landscape interlaces the evergreen sclerophyllous forests, woodlands, shrublands, marine and coastal environment. The mix of plants is made up of lentisk, olive, tree heath, thorny broom, candytuft and carnation. The islands offer niches for four endemic plants, one of which is named after the island – Limonium zembrae. The biosphere hosts the domestic sheep, European rabbit, cat, house mouse and black rat. The marine life marked by red and brown algae, green seaweeds, is home to the giant limpet, grouper and amberjacks, waterfowls, Audouin's Gull, the Great Cormorant, peregrine falcons and lanner falcons, and short-beaked common dolphin. The Archipelago is a refuge for birds using he flyway of Tunisia and the Sicilian Canal. It is home to around twenty-five thousand (25,000) pairs of gray shearwaters between February and October. The biosphere neighborhoods preserve the history of Punic, Roman, Byzantine and Arab civilizations. It leads to a coastal city, the Roman caves in Hawaria, which is famous for attracting the young Peregrine falcons and sparrow hawks.
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