The White Dune in Dakhla is THE reference destination for all tourists who stop in the city in southern Morocco, popular with kite-surfers from all over the world. However, the white dune is impacted by its non-registration as national heritage and is deteriorating day by day. Hence the urgency of taking measures to preserve this aquatic paradise, home port for many migratory birds. Details.
The White Dune of Dakhla is imposing, once arrived on site, during a press trip organized by the Moroccan National Tourist Office (ONMT), the peaceful side of the place invites you to stroll. The numerous 4*4s gradually drop tourists, mostly foreigners, who rush to the top of the dune.
The white sand, the strong winds give a majestic side to this high tourist place. Flamingos rest, off the lagoon, then fly away once visitors approach to take their picture. Once at the top of the Dune Blanche, a dream panorama takes shape. A lagoon, with clear and calm water stretches as far as the eye can see, immediately connected to the tumultuous Atlantic Ocean. That morning, the tide is low, tourists can walk around as they please. In some places, the salt leaves a gray color that mingles with the color of the sand, of an astonishing whiteness.
“The site is of great ecological and tourist interest for the city of Dakhla. It is an essential place in the excursions of the hinterland of Dakhla, located 20 kilometers from the city of kite-surfers. The White Dune is above all a home port for several migratory birds,” said Daifallah Ndour, regional tourism delegate for Dakhla – Oued Eddahab, to Yabiladi.
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The view offered by the Dune Blanche, once you reach its summit. / Ph. Driss Senoussi
However, the manager is sounding the alarm, since the white dune “does not benefit from any protection”. However, it is a “site of biological and ecological interest (SIBE) registered with Ramsar (since 2003, the bay of Dakhla has been registered with the international convention to conserve wetlands, editor’s note)”, adds the regional delegate for tourism from Dakhla. The regional delegation of tourism does not remain idly by, with the direction of culture, “we have started work to classify the site as national heritage, to avoid any possible slippage, to protect it. A general consensus exists between all the stakeholders on the importance of the site, its particularity and its protection”, confides the manager.
“Unofficially, the authorities and especially the wali of the region prohibit any establishment of structures, whether fishing or otherwise. The entire site is prohibited for any activity, apart from excursions and walks for visitors. Of course, kiters can walk as they want.
Every day, around forty people come to visit the Bblanche dune. “It takes ten 4x4s, with four people per vehicle. The peak of the internal tourist movement is during the holiday period”, specifies Daifallah Ndour. And to add: “60 to 70% of tourists are foreigners, for the majority of kiters, who when the wind is calm, take advantage of the windfall for excursions to the White Dune.”
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Two tourists are walking on top of the White Dune. / Ph. Driss Senoussi
“Loss of 40% of the critical mass of sand”
Driss Senoussi, tourist investor and entrepreneur in Dakhla is also worried regarding the future of the white dune. He confesses to Yabiladi his apprehension of a possible “disappearance of the site”. Given the influx of daily visitors who climb the dune, “There is a loss of sand which means that it loses its critical mass. She has lost, for three to four years, 40%, ”says Driss Senoussi. The White Dune, on the other hand, its “fragile and important” ecosystem is unique. “It is a key element in Dakhla, the most visited point, more than Dragon Island. It is a quirk of nature, static, which if it disappears will impact an entire ecosystem. At high tide, it is completely surrounded by water”, adds the tourist investor.
With several locals, Driss Senoussi is committed to creating an association to “protect the lagoon and sites like the White Dune, to be able to regulate visits and ask people not to climb on it, but just go around it. Otherwise, it will lose its tourist appeal and the locals have understood this for a long time”, confides the entrepreneur.
“When I arrived in Dakhla ten years ago, we felt the power of the dune, whereas today, we have the impression that it is sick. There are too many people, you have more than 40 people going up and down in all directions, so we take away its critical mass, we change its shape. With the wind, the smallest grain of sand, as soon as it is modified, there are impacts that we cannot even imagine.
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The White Dune, at low tide. / Ph. Driss Senoussi
A stopover and staging area for thousands of birds
As for migratory birds, a multitude of species stop at the Dune Blanche. “It is an area of interaction between several species of migratory birds and local birds, Moroccan species,” said Yabiladi Sidi Imad Cherkaoui, professor at Moulay Ismail University and doctor of ornithology.
“It is a meeting point between migrating Palearctic birds that come from the north to spend the winter in warmer areas, especially the coastal areas of southern Morocco, and the dispersing Afro-tropical birds that are not not migratory, which come from West Africa and which go up towards the north, in particular in the zone of the White dune. It is a zone of encounters between the two forms, a stopover zone and stopover for several migratory species, thousands and thousands of birds.
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Flamingos off the Dune Blanche. / Ph. DR
There are many species to observe, such as seagulls, gulls, flamingos, etc. But also, the royal tern which is an Afro-tropical species. “Flamingos are always on the move. They give the impression that they are still there”, concludes the scientist.
The White Dune in Dakhla is a site that deeply marks the soul of nature lovers. We leave amazed, the spirit soothed to have encountered in his life this little corner of paradise.