The Pond, or Swamp, of Sa Masa is a wetland located along the south-western coast of Sardinia in the municipality of Gonnesa.
This wetland can be easily reached and extends for around 100 hectares and is of particular interest thanks to its avifauna. Two rivers feed into the pond: rio sa Crabiola and rio di Gonnesa.
The pond is almost completely dry during the warm periods of the year and becomes a kind of meadow. The wetland reduces to a small area, to the north, visible from the country road 83 towards Fontanamare.
From a flora point of view, we can find common reeds, giant reeds and typha.
The fauna found in the area includes the presence of various kinds of birds such as herons, the common kingfisher, the Western swamp hen and the Western marsh harrier. There are also a number of amphibians like the Sardinian tree frog, the Tyrrhenian painted frog, the European green frog and the freshwater grass snake.
The pond was threatened by anthropic pollution, caused by contaminated rivers from former mining activity and illegal dumping. This latter bad practise brought with it certain alien species which found a suitable place in Sa Masa.
Nowadays, in order to protect it, the pond is part of the Sites of Community Importance (SIC) “Costa di Nebida” (ITB040029), regulated by the Rete Natura 2000.
