Copyright 2001 WWF
November 1, 2001

Tunis, Tunisia - WWF, the conservation organisation, welcomes the decision by the Tunisian President to create two new national parks, the Zagouan National Park and the Orbata National Park, and to improve nature conservation legislation in Tunisia. This decision has been announced by the Minister of Agriculture and the Minister of Environment on the occasion of the national seminar on nature conservation in Tunisia.

The Zagouan National Park, located 60 km south of Tunis, covers an area of 2000 ha and hosts the golden eagle, rare in the Mediterranean, as well as a high diversity of flora. The Orbata National Park, which spreads over 3000 ha in the south of the country is a desert mountain haven to extremely important species such as the mouflon. A new nature reserve will also be created by the Tunisian government in Oued Dkouk, southern Tunisia.

"This is an important achievement in the conservation of Tunisian forests" said Pedro Regato, Forest Officer at WWF Mediterranean Programme Office. "WWF applauds this presidential decision and now calls on the Tunisian government to move further in the protection of Tunisian natural heritage, in creating a network of protected areas especially in the northern area of Tunisia, particularly in the Kroumerie-Mogod region, where valuable forest and marine sites are at risk."

Protection of small and isolated areas is not sufficient to guarantee the long-term conservation of ecosystems. The network of protected areas called upon by WWF would include core protected areas where nature protection is enforced, surrounded by large buffer zones where biodiversity conservation is integrated with sustainable development beneficial to the local communities.

The Kroumerie-Mogod region is amongst the richest ecosystems in the Mediterranean. It is critically affected, as are many Mediterranean forests, by rapid forest fragmentation and biodiversity loss mainly due to overgrazing, forest fires and competition for agricultural land. Forests there host the extremely rare zen oak and the endangered barbary deer, while corals, posidonia meadows and sand dune habitats enrich the marine and coastal part of the area.

The government has also expressed its will to encourage and establish partnerships with the Tunisian NGO's; a significant step in this direction is the announced enhancement of the NGO's participation to the wildlife advisory committee of the Ministry of Agriculture (participation which could reach 50%). "WWF is very pleased to see the commitment of the Tunisian government to involve the NGO's in a more active role in the nature conservation process, " said Faouzi Maamouri, Head of WWF Tunisia Programme.

For further information contact:

Anne Rémy, Head of Communications, WWF Mediterranean Programme Office, tel: +39 06 844 97 424

Faouzi Maamouri, Head of WWF Tunisia Programme, tel: + 216 7 1 707 238 Error: Unable to read footer file.