Park National D'Ichkeul

The Ichkeul National Park (المحمية الوطنية إشكل) is a natural site located in the north of Tunisia, more precisely 25 kilometers southeast of Bizerte and fifteen kilometers from the cities of Menzel Bourguiba and Mateur, in the territory of governorate of Bizerte. It is managed by the Ministry of Agriculture, more specifically by the Hunting and National Parks Sub-Directorate attached to the Directorate General for Forests. This park was a hunting reserve during the reign of the Hafsid dynasty in the 13th century and became public property in the early twentieth century. He benefited from national and international protections. Classified biosphere reserve by Unesco in 1977 (program on the man and the biosphere), it is registered with the natural world inheritance of UNESCO in 1979 answering the criterion following: "to contain the most representative natural habitats and the important for the in situ conservation of biological diversity, including those where threatened species of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science or conservation survive. " A national park is created by Presidential Decree No. 80-1608 of 18 December 1980. The same year, the site is included in the list of sites protected by the Ramsar Convention.

It is twinned with El-Kala National Park, located in northeastern Algeria, since 1980. It is a wetland covering a total area of 12,600 hectares and is used for wintering 180 bird species, some of which are rare. It consists of Lake Ichkeul with an area of 8,500 hectares, marshes with an area of 2,737 hectares and a mountain range culminating at 510 meters above sea level. The lake offers the special feature of being fed by six freshwater wadis during the winter and being connected to the Mediterranean Sea via Lake Bizerte (via the Tinja Canal) during the summer, which greatly increases the salinity of its waters. The lake is the last vestige of a chain of lakes that once stretched across North Africa. This area is one of the most important ornithological reserves in North Africa. It hosts a variety of flora and fauna. Thus, there may be between 200 and 400 000 birds during the winter including rare species, such as the Sultane swede, the marbled marmaronette, and common species such as greylag goose, wild duck, stork or pink flamingo . The lake is home to a plant, potamogeton, which is a staple food for birds. The lake, as well as marshes, also host species of fish with brackish water. The limestone mountain range is covered by olive trees and lentisks. The park has baths dating from the Middle Ages and still used by some inhabitants. However, the site is threatened by the construction of dams on upstream streams, which increases the salinity of the waters and disrupts the ecosystem. A lock is supposed to help regulate freshwater supplies. The site remains protected by the modest hosting facilities limited to a small ecomuseum and some hiking trails. In 1996, the site is inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger due to an increase in the salinity of its waters that threatens hundreds of thousands of migratory birds. An emergency project is implemented by UNESCO to protect the site by developing a monitoring plan for the park, by setting up a new management strategy and by leading to better management and use of the site's water resources. . The Tunisian authorities put an end to the agricultural use of the lake's waters, reducing salinity and allowing the return of many bird species to the park. This project removed the park from the List of World Heritage in Danger in 2006.