Archive for the
‘Stories’

August 31, 2022

|

Categories: Job, Stories

Sahara Conservation is a pioneering international conservation organisation working at the forefront of efforts to save the threatened wildlife of the Sahara and Sahel. Since its inception in 2004, Sahara Conservation has helped protect and restore unique desert antelopes such as the addax and scimitar-horned oryx, established one of the world’s largest protected areas in Niger, implemented a recovery program for the world’s largest bird, the North African ostrich, and put Saharan wildlife on the global conservation agenda through a combination of fieldwork, communication, and advocacy. read more

September 14, 2021

|

Categories: Stories

In January 2020, a helicopter capture operation was conducted to translocate gazelles from the Manga region to the Ouadi Rimé-Ouadi Achim protected area in central Chad. By bringing back one male among the three captured gazelles, the rescue mission was a success, as a breeding group was created. With the birth of a second dama gazelle, we can hope that the group will progressively grow.

The joint efforts of the various stakeholders were rewarded with the birth of a second baby gazelle, a female. With so few individuals left in their original range, each birth is of vital importance and gives hope in the fight for the conservation of the species.

Since her birth, the little female is in good condition despite the very hot weather. The SCF teams are proud of this birth, proof that the work done is bearing fruit.

This was a key operation of the 2019-2028 dama gazelles conservation strategy. In order to prevent the extinction of these gazelles, the Chadian government along with the Sahara Conservation Fund (SCF), the IUCN/SSC Antelope Specialist Group, the Segré Foundation, Rewild, and the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, have partnered to carry out this operation. The current population numbers less than 100 individuals in the wild, indicating an unprecedented urgency for the preservation and transmission of the wild genes of these animals.

Experts are studying the possibility of translocating dama gazelles from zoos and other parts of the world to expand the group. In collaboration with the SCF team, they are working on the best way to prolong the benefit of this rescue operation, so that the group can flourish and strengthen the existing population.

 

June 5, 2021

|

Categories: Stories

Today, June 5, 2021, World Environment Day, marks the official beginning of a decisive period. Under the theme of ‘restoring ecosystems’, this well-known international day represents the launch of the United Nations Decade aimed at restoring the biological systems that underpin all life on Earth. The United Nations calls all countries of the world to unite to protect and restore ecosystem services for the benefit of nature and people, and will run from 2021 to 2030, the target date for achieving the Global Sustainable Development Goals.

Scientists state that this is the last window of opportunity to avoid catastrophic climate change. It is now essential to stop the degradation of the various environments on the planet, and restore them.

Covering an area of 10 million square kilometers, equivalent to the size of continental United States or China, and comprising more than 2,000 plant species and hundreds of animal species, the Sahelo-Saharan zone encompasses a range of ecosystems including; dunes, mountains, rocky massifs, wadis, and oases, that are extremely valuable for global biodiversity. This realm is extraordinarily richer and more varied than we are used to believe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The spectre of climate change is also expanding this arid zone by 2 million hectares annually. This expansion of the desert region negatively impacts the diversity of these desert environments and species. The degradation of the Sahelo-Saharan vegetation cover is a visible phenomenon and relatively well known to the general public. What is not as well-known is the increasing disappearance of animals that are emblematic of a whole cultural and natural human history from the landscape. Experts are increasingly concerned about the extinction of wild antelope and bird populations that have already been reduced to very small numbers in their Sahelo-Saharan distribution areas. Poaching, overharvesting of natural resources, and human pressure in general continue to exert their toll.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While the Sahara Conservation Fund and its partners are doing their part, as best as possible, to save species such as the scimitar-horned oryx, the dama gazelle, the addax, and the North African ostrich, it is worth remembering, on this day dedicated to ecosystem restoration and at the beginning of a crucial decade for our not-so-distant future, that everyone has a role to play.

Keep in mind that all ecosystems deserve to be conserved, even the most arid, and that, like the Sahelo-Saharan zone, some environmental areas represent an immense ecosystem of global importance.

We ask that you be passionate about little-known species, whose extinction is taking place in silence. Talk about it with your friends and family. If you can, make a donation, even a small one, to field workers, scientists, NGOs of your choice. Keep learning about, but also from, nature. Stay informed and involved. Either way: take part in #generationrestoration now.

March 23, 2021

|

Categories: Stories

The Sahara Conservation Fund (SCF) continues to monitor breeding vulture populations in Niger in an effort to learn more about the ecology and threats of these highly threatened birds. Currently, monitoring activities are concentrated in the Gadabeji Biosphere Reserve in the Maradi region and the Koutous Massif in the Zinder region.

In early 2020, it was noticed that Rüppell’s vultures (Gyps rueppelli) in the Koutous Massif – which is not a protected area – seemed to initiate their breeding season well before those nesting in the Gadabeji Biosphere Reserve. This was confirmed during a mission to both areas in late December 2020, during which three Rüppell’s vultures were observed already sitting on eggs in the cliffs of the Koutous Massif, and no vultures at all in the Gadabeji Biosphere Reserve – likely because vultures are only observed in the Reserve during the breeding season. More studies are required in order to explain the phenomenon of early breeding in the Koutous, however it is interesting to note the difference in habitats and nesting sites between the two regions. Rüppell’s vultures are known to nest in cliffs and the tree nesting behavior is mostly considered « rare » by specialists – while it seems that it could be not that rare in the Sahelian region. further studies are still necessary to know more on the ecology and distribution of the Rüppell’s vultures of the Koutous Massif year-round.

Towards the end of February 2021, a second mission allowed the team to observe the first two chicks of the season in the Koutous. These individuals were found among the 13 active Rüppell’s vultures nests that had been previously identified. Rüppell’s vultures share their habitat with Egyptian vultures (Neophron percnopterus), which have also begun to breed – a fact demonstrated by the observation of several incubating pairs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Egyptian vultures in the Koutous Massif

During the same mission, the first active nests of the season in the Gadabeji Biosphere Reserve were also recorded, including two Rüppell’s nests and one white-headed vulture (Trigonoceps occipitalis) nest – all being incubated. Unfortunately, this is a very low number and although it is hoped that more individuals will join the Reserve as the breeding season progresses, it may be an indication of a reduction in numbers for this Critically Endangered vulture population.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rüppell’s vultures in the Gadabeji Biosphere Reserve

Future visits will allow the team to collect more information on Niger’s breeding population of vultures, hopefully shedding more light on their ecology and their status. Alongside this, efforts are being made to raise awareness of the situation among local communities, water and forestry officials, hunters and other stakeholders. With this in mind, a guide for the conservation of vultures in Niger (in French) was produced by SCF and distributed to the main actors involved in the protection and monitoring of the birds. It is hoped that this will be beneficial to vulture conservation efforts in the long run.

Photos © Abdoul Razack Moussa Zabeirou

March 23, 2021

|

Categories: Stories

The period between January and March of this year has been a busy one for the Ouadi Rimé-Ouadi Achim Project (POROA). One of many notable activities to have taken place is the launch of a training session for the project’s Awareness and Education Unit on behavioral changes related to environmental education. The POROA’s Awareness and Education Unit is responsible for raising awareness among the populations of the Ouadi Rimé-Ouadi Achim Game Reserve, specifically regarding to the use of its natural resources and the preservation of its biodiversity. Once the Reserve’s new management plan has been implemented through the POROA, the unit will be responsible for promoting the plan and its associated regulations to users of the Reserve. The intervention of the Derbianus Conservation NGO team, known for its successful field awareness campaigns on the Derby eland and its conservation in Senegal, will allow the Awareness and Education Unit, its manager and facilitators, to refine the awareness messages disseminated through their Environmental Education Caravans and other field work. The team is represented in the field by Jan Svitalek, a specialist in the relationship between local communities and natural resources in Africa.

Training session in the Ouadi Rimé-Ouadi Achim Game Reserve © Jan Svitalek

Furthermore, the POROA has spearheaded the training of 40 new guards for the reserve, in close collaboration with the Chadian authorities. The project orchestrated the construction of a training camp near the Reserve and participated in various phases of pre-selection and selection of candidates. The twelve-week training course is being conducted by Mellivora Systems and covers a wide range of topics, including terrain appreciation and knowledge, combat techniques and safety rules.

Pre-selection of candidates © Henry Bailey

The Reserve extends over 77,950 square kilometers in total, and although guards are already employed to protect it, the scale of this vast protected area makes their task difficult, particularly as they lack basic training and apparatus. Equipping the reserve with new, well-trained and well-resourced guards will therefore be a major step in improving its protection. The forty new guards will eventually be divided into six teams to ensure a permanent presence in the field, with the aim of countering threats such as poaching, bush fires and the degradation of large wadis where illegal logging and conversion to agriculture results in the loss of trees and woody vegetation contributing to desertification.

Finally, consultations and work on the development of the Reserve’s management plan are continuing, with a workshop on the pastoral and anthropological issues in the Reserve held from February 8th to 12th. The workshop allowed for the presentation of 22 new thematic maps of the Reserve in regards to these topics, with the participation of a member of the pastoral platform and a professor from the University of N’djamena. The scale of this task is unprecedented, especially given the immense size of the Reserve, and its success requires considerable dedication from the team and participants.

Fieldwork as part of the development of the Reserve’s management plan © Henry Bailey

44 days of dedicated field work were necessary and over 17,000 kilometers travelled, to develop the maps. This is all very good news for the project, which continues to see success, despite the ongoing difficulties faced by both the national and international communities in relation to the pandemic.

The project « Support for the development of the Ouadi Rimé-Ouadi Achim Game Reserve and the sustainable management of its biodiversity (POROA) » is part of the support program for the preservation of biodiversity and wildlife and fragile ecosystems of Central Africa (ECOFAC VI) funded by the 11th European Development Fund (EDF). The goal of the project is to preserve the biodiversity of the Ouadi Rimé-Ouadi Achim Game Reserve in an integrated and sustainable way.