Celebrating 25 Years of Action for Biodiversity

Algeria is home to nearly 700 endemic species [ ] 46 The expansion of protected areas One of the most significant achieve- ments of biodiversity protection in Algeria over the past few decades has been the multiplication of protected areas throughout the country. Hav- ing covered 22 per cent of national territory in 2009, the areas have now increased to cover 44 per cent of the country’s surface. This achievement goes well beyond Aichi Target 11, which aims for the conservation of 17 per cent of terrestrial and inland wa- ter areas through the establishment of protected areas. Algeria’s protected areas include 11 national parks, three coastal parks, five mountain parks, one steppe park, and two desert parks, as well as five natural reserves, five cultural parks, four hunting reserves, and 50 Ramsar sites. Among these, seven of the national parks — El Kala, Djurdjura, Chréa, Taza, Gouraya, Belezma and Tlemcen — have been classified as biosphere reserves under the UNES- CO MAB network (Man and Bio- sphere Programme). These protected areas represent the cornerstone of the country’s conservation as they integrate the majority of the country’s ecosystems, and it has been estimated that approximately 80 per cent of Al- geria’s biological diversity is represent- ed in the current protected areas. To ensure better management of the protected areas, the country has passed a law to secure sustainable development throughout the country along with a master plan for each of the national parks, defining long- term orientations and objectives and determining the means required for implementation. The protected areas are administered by public adminis- trative bodies. The creation of 25 new terrestrial protected areas is planned to take place over the following decades, including 11 biosphere reserves. These projects will oversee ecological regions that shelter critically endan- gered habitats and species. The aim is to reach a network of protected areas covering 50 per cent of the national territory by 2030, in order to ensure the protection of representative samples of the entire biodiversity of Algeria. A lgeria is the largest country in Africa, covering an area of 2,381,741km². With a coast that runs along the Mediterranean Sea and a territory that stretches south to the Sahara desert, the country holds a great variety of ecosystems and habitats, ranging from coastal and marine to forest and mountain, as well as steppe and desert ecosystems. This has allowed the development of a rich diversity of approximately 16,000 recorded species. In order to preserve its biodiversity, the country has created a large number of protected areas covering 44 per cent of national territory, including 11 national parks, five natural reserves and 50 humid zones classified under the Ramsar Convention. Taghit, Algeria Bou Abdellah Algeria