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Sal Island in Cabo Verde has 11 protected areas
Including five nature reserves and other protected landscapes and natural monuments that encompass both marine and terrestrial habitats, recognized internationally for their biodiversity significance. These protected areas include both ecosystems critical for biodiversity conservation and habitats under increasing pressure from human activities such as tourism and fisheries.
The nature reserves in Sal encompass coastal, marine, and inland ecosystems that support rare and endemic species, offer critical breeding grounds for sea turtles and seabirds, and serve as natural buffers against erosion and climate threats.
As sustainable tourism gains traction across the archipelago, these protected areas become vital platforms for eco-friendly travel, conservation education, and community engagement.
The role of sustainable tourism in conservation
The nature reserves in Sal are more than protected spaces—they are living ecosystems that depend on careful stewardship.
Tourism, if well-managed, can serve as a powerful conservation tool by:
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Funding habitat restoration and monitoring
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Raising awareness of endangered species
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Creating economic opportunities for local communities
Guided nature walks, turtle watching, birding excursions, and educational tours not only enrich the visitor experience but also reduce environmental pressure through controlled access.
Ecotourism
Responsible visitors to the nature reserves engage in hiking, cycling, and nature photography, drawn by its unique landscape and biodiversity. However, human activity must be carefully managed.
We play a central role in balancing tourism with conservation by partnering with authorities, training guides, and implementing on-the-ground solutions.
Our conservation work includes:
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Cooperative management of Protected Areas (PAs), including training, path delimitation, and code of conduct development
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Habitat restoration, such as dune recovery and clean-ups
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Species conservation, with biodiversity monitoring, endemic plant cultivation, and research through data collection
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Invasive species control, including plant removal, and repurposing of invasive plants
Community outreach, from environmental education to guiding training and sustainable livelihoods for local fishers and residents
Costa da Fragata
Dunes, Biodiversity, and Coastal Protection
Positioned along Sal's southeastern coast, Costa da Fragata spans 2,693 hectares, 346 on land and 2,347 marine. The reserve includes broad sandy Fragata Beach, its adjoining marine ecosystem and the surrounding dune corridor that are vital to sand distribution in the island’s southern sector and its protection. A large part of the dune ecosystems has been previously destroyed through illegal sand mining.
The reserve is a designated Key Biodiversity Area, with more than forty documented plant species, seven of which are endemic and rare, including Withania chevalieri (critically endangered), Arthrocnemum franzii, and Lotus brunneri. The dunes support diverse halophytic and psammophilous vegetation, such as Tetraena fontanesii, Suaeda caboverdeana, Tamarix senegalensis, and Heliotropium curassavicum. The area also protects over forty bird species (greater Hoopoe-Lark, Pastor). Temporary and permanent wetlands, such as the lagoon of Cabeça Salina, provide a sanctuary for wader birds (Black-winged Stilt, Kentish Plover.
Costa da Fragata contains unique habitats and serves as a key nesting site for the endangered loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta). Offshore, the reserve extends three nautical miles into the sea, including sandy and rocky seabeds rich in coral species such as Palythoa and Porites. The waters host a diverse range of marine life, including large and small pelagic fish like tuna and mackerel, demersal species such as grouper and red mullet, and several shark and ray species including blue and tiger sharks, reflecting the area’s ecological and fishing significance.
Key threats
Costa da Fragata faces serious environmental pressures, including unregulated vehicle and horse traffic, sand extraction, and tourism development, which degrade the dunes and disturb nesting turtles. Illegal fishing practices and recreational activities such as kitesurfing and diving also threaten the fragile coastal and marine ecosystems.
Serra Negra
A sanctuary for wildlife
Located in the southeastern part of the island, Serra Negra is the largest protected area on Sal, covering approximately 3,101 hectares of land and sea. The 104m high relief, with fossil dunes, runs parallel to the coastline from Ponta de Fragata to Ponta do Morrinho Vermelho. Its rugged terrain features a diverse geomorphological landscape, including rhodolite-rich rocky zones, beaches, coral fragments, and intertidal ponds.
The reserve’s vegetation includes a variety of drought-adapted plants, including endemic species like Limonium brunneri and Asparagus squarrosus. Its marine zone features mainly rocky and mixed seabeds with corals such as Palythoa sp., Siderastreidae, and Eucinella granulata, and supports a diverse fish community with tuna, mackerel, groupers, red mullet, and several species of sharks and rays.
Serra Negra is one of Sal's most critical habitats, both for its biodiversity and ecological function. Due to its exceptional ecological value, the reserve is internationally classified as a Key Biodiversity Area (KBA), it hosts threatened endemic plants such as Pulicaria difusa (Endangered), Limonium brunneri, and Diplotaxis glauca (Critically Endangered). Serra Negra is also classified as an Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA), as it’s relief holds the largest colony the red-billed tropicbird (Phaethon aethereus, endangered) in west Africa and is an important nesting habitat for the osprey (Pandion haliaetus, rare). Further, it hosts the highest density of loggerhead sea turtle nests (Caretta caretta) on the island, making it an essential location for marine conservation.
Key threats
Major threats to the reserve include the capture of seabirds and their chicks, illegal quarrying near nesting cliffs, and unsustainable fishing practices such as spearfishing and destructive gear use. Vehicle access and touristic activity near nesting sites also disturb the bird colonies risking nesting failures.
Ponta do Sinó
Coastal Biodiversity in a Fragile Environment
At the southernmost point of the island lies Ponta do Sinó, covering 4.902, including dunes, salt flats, interidal lagoons and beaches and 3 miles of marine territory. The area includes the Algodoeiro Bay and Ponta Preta Beach, known for their rich biodiversity and critical habitats.
It protects vital wetlands and intertidal zones that support halophytic vegetation, plants adapted to saline soils, including Suaeda, Zygophyllum, and Sporobolus species, which help stabilise the dunes and maintain the ecological balance of the coastal system. The area provide feeding and nesting grounds for wading birds like the Kentish plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) and feeding grounds for the green turtle (Chelonia mydas) and nesting ground for the endangered loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta). The reserve also includes coral communities dominated by Millepora, Palythoa, and Porites species, as well as diverse fish, shark, and ray populations.
Key threats
Despite its ecological significance, the reserve faces increasing pressure from urban expansion and tourism, especially from Santa Maria and nearby tourist resorts. Major threats include vehicle traffic across dunes, coastal development, light and noise pollution, and disturbance of nesting and feeding sites.
Baía da Murdeira
Cabo Verde's Marine Jewel
Established in 2003, Baía da Murdeira is Cabo Verde's only officially designated marine nature reserve, covering a total area of approximately 2,067 hectares of sea and land. Located on the southwest coast, the reserve stretches across a crescent-shaped bay and includes Ilhéu Rabo de Junco, a small offshore islet. This is one of the most significant breeding grounds for seabirds in Cabo Verde, with five seabird species and the osprey nesting there throughout the year.
The bay’s calm and sheltered waters support diverse ecosystems with coral reefs, sponges, and over 77 species of fish, including nurse sharks and rare endemic molluscs such as Conus cuneolus f. murdeirae. It also serves as an important nesting and feeding ground for the endangered loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta), and as a seasonal refuge for humpback whales, pilot whales, and dolphins. he reserve’s surrounding cliffs and islet provide nesting sites for iconic seabirds such as the osprey (Pandion haliaetus), the red-billed tropicbird (Phaethon aethereus), and the Cape Verde shearwater (Calonectris edwardsii).
Key threats
Despite its protected status, the reserve faces several environmental threats, including sand extraction, illegal turtle hunting, unsustainable fishing, and pollution from coastal development. The spread of tourism infrastructure around Murdeira Village and increased marine recreation activities (diving, boating, surfing and kitesurfing) pose growing risks to the bay’s fragile habitats and wildlife.
Rabo de Junco
A Buffer and Bird Refuge
Adjacent to Baía da Murdeira, the Rabo de Junco Nature Reserve spans 154 hectares of arid coastal terrain. It consists of two main elevations, the Rabo de Junco Peak, the highest point in the area at 165 metres, and the smaller Rochinha de Rabo de Junco to the north, which are also known as Monte Leão (Lion Mountain). The steep cliffs facing the sea were shaped by marine erosion and provide prime nesting sites for seabirds, especially the red-billed tropicbird (Phaethon aethereus), which is listed as critically endangered on Sal. The reserve is also valued for its striking volcanic scenery and geological features.
Key threats
Threats include the capture of seabirds and chicks, nest destruction, and illegal quarrying of volcanic material for construction, which causes habitat degradation and increased erosion. Unregulated off-road vehicle traffic and tourism pressure have also led to soil compaction and disturbance of nesting areas.
Our work in Protected Areas
In collaboration with the National Directorate of Environment (DNA) we implement the management plan for the nature reserves. Our work within the protected areas includes the delimitation of paths and signage, the restoration of dune habitats, plant transplantation, species census on land and in water, sea turtle protection and monitoring and infraction monitoring, bird monitoring, invasive species control, cleanups.
Help keep our critical habitas safe
Sal’s protected areas are fundamental to Cabo Verde’s ecological resilience. From volcanic ridges to sandy dunes, marine ecosystems to cliffside bird colonies, the nature reserves in Sal safeguard irreplaceable biodiversity and geological features.
While these areas face increasing pressure from climate change, unsustainable development, and tourism-related impacts, they also hold immense potential for sustainable tourism and nature-based education. The continued protection of these reserves requires the collective effort of government, local communities, conservation organisations, and responsible travelers.
By choosing guided experiences, respecting conservation rules, and supporting local initiatives, visitors can help ensure that Sal’s natural heritage thrives today and for generations to come.
To get involved, consider supporting our work at Project Biodiversity by volunteering, donating, or learning more about our on-the-ground conservation projects.