Country: Niger
-
2025 in review
From field missions to new partnerships, from the reintroduction of threatened species to habitat protection, 2025 was a particularly impactful year for conservation in the Sahel and the Sahara.Thank you for standing with us. We look forward to writing 2026 together.
-
The new Koutous games: sports and nature in action!
A second edition under the banner of sports, youth, and nature After a particularly successful first edition in 2024/2025, the Koutous Sports and Nature Games are back! In partnership with Play for Nature and APRC Mécénat, this innovative initiative uses sports to foster community spirit and raise awareness among younger generations about the importance of…
-
From the Field: Voices of Conservation – Razack
Discover firsthand stories from our dedicated team working on the ground to protect the Sahara’s unique wildlife and habitats. Abdoul Razack Moussa Zabeirou Barefoot on the Takolokouzet: A Mission for the Dama Gazelle Against All Odds My first mission with Sahara Conservation, back in 2017, in the Aïr and Ténéré National Nature Reserve (ATNNR), remains…
-
Giving Season: Help Us Protect Niger’s Irreplaceable Wildlife
Together, we can help safeguard Niger’s imperiled wildlife. Niger, a land of breathtaking deserts and unique wildlife in West Africa, holds a special place in Sahara Conservation’s heart. Yet, this natural heritage faces an urgent crisis.It is one of the world’s least developped countries yet holds a wealth of irreplaceable wildlife that needs support in current times. Funding for…
-
Sahara Conservation’s 2023 Annual Report
We are pleased to present Sahara Conservation’s 2023 Annual Report, highlighting a year of groundbreaking conservation successes and strategic partnerships. We extend our heartfelt thanks to our teams, partners and supporters for their dedication and shared vision, making 2023 a landmark year for Sahara Conservation. To learn more about our impact, you can access the…
-
Supporting local communities and raising awareness
Supporting local communities and raising awareness Local communities have a direct impact on biodiversity because of their proximity and daily relationships with the natural world. Their involvement is crucial to address urgent conservation issues. Younger generations are the perfect vehicle to spread the message among their communities and help develop the necessary skills and attitudes…
-
Aïr and Ténéré National Nature Reserve
Aïr and Ténéré National Nature Reserve Established in 1988, the Aïr and Ténéré National Natural Reserve (ATNNR) is classified as Category IV by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and is one of the largest protected areas in Africa, with a total area of 77,360 km2. The reserve is located in the heart of…
-
Our highlights 2023 and Looking ahead
Together we are making a difference in one of the most challenging environments on Earth! As a result of our global and local partnerships, there is good news for some of the world’s most threatened and unique species and ecosystems. Encouraged by this progress, we approach 2024 with more ambitious aspirations for these important wildlife…
-
Gadabedji Biosphere Reserve
Gadabedji Biosphere Reserve The Gadabedji Biosphere Reserve (GBR) is the only protected area in Niger located exclusively in the Sahel, in the north of the region of Maradi. The reserve includes the 760 km² Gadabedji Game Reserve where the dedicated management unit team focuses most of its efforts.Created in 1954 as a classified forest, the…
-
Vultures in Niger: what are the threats and how can they be addressed?
Niger is a landlocked country in West Africa, located in the transition area between the Sahelo-Sudanian strip and the Sahara desert. Due to the diversity of its ecosystems, it is home to a wide variety of fauna and flora. Out of the 11 species of African vultures, eight can be observed in Niger and six…
-
Congratulations to Ibrahim Mamadou Maїmounatou for her PhD!
Congratulations to Ibrahim Mamadou Maїmounatou, Manager of the captive ostrich breeding sites of Sahara Conservation in Niger, who becomes the first woman to get a PhD at the University of Diffa! Maïmounatou defended last month her PhD thesis in Ecology and Environment with a very honorable mention in front of the jury, on the subject…
-
The Success of the Egyptian Vulture New LIFE project in Niger
Every 14 countries involved in the Egyptian Vulture New LIFE project will have had a different experience. Although working towards the same goal of strengthening the Eastern European population of Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus) by implementing urgent conservation measures to eliminate the main threats, each partner had to adapt to the local context, especially to…
-
Forests, water and… Sahara
International Day of Forests yesterday, World Water Day today… Two elements critically missing to Sahara, yet vital. So why talk about it, you would ask? To raise awareness and shed some light on the challenges faced by the wildlife in Sahel and Sahara. Chad’s Ouadi Rimé-Ouadi Achim Game Reserve was established by Presidential decree on May 10, 1969.…
-
Animals from Niger get a colorful makeover from Manon Raman
“Animals of Niger,” an exhibition of work by the artist Manon Raman, was held on May 22 and 23, 2021 at the Taweydo Gallery in Niamey, Niger. The public was able to admire a selection of paintings portraying various Nigerien species. After the show ended, Manon Raman made the very generous decision to donate 25%…
-
Launch of the UN decade for ecosystem restoration
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…
-
Monitoring Rüppell’s vulture breeding populations in Niger: latest field observations
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…
-
Barbary sheep in Niger – a population in decline?
Monitoring vulnerable and endangered species using field observation data is a key aspect of successful wildlife conservation. Proving this to be the case, data collected as part of SCF’s monitoring work may have highlighted a worrying trend in the Nigerien population of Barbary sheep (Ammotragus lervia). Also known as the ‘aoudad’, the Barbary sheep is…
-
Sahara Conservation fund condemns Kouré giraffe reserve deadly attack
It is with great sadness that the Sahara Conservation Fund mourns the deaths and remembers the lives of the eight victims of the mass shooting that took place on August 9, 2020 at the Kouré Giraffe Reserve, Niger. One of the victims of the attack was Kadri Abdou, President of l’Association des Guides de Girafes of…
-
News from the latest vulture field monitoring mission
February was the start of a new breeding season for vultures in Niger and time for the local SCF team to start monitor these globally threatened birds of prey. During a joint mission with the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB) in the framework of the Egyptian Vulture New LIFE project, our team…
-
Recent humanitarian missions
The Sahara Conservation Fund, in collaboration with the non-profits ESAFRO and L’Afrique à Cœur, participates in supporting local populations within the Aïr and Ténéré National Natural Reserve through health missions. Health- and dental-care missions have been carried out in the towns of Timia and Iferouane with products and dental materials donated by all three organizations.…
-
Dama gazelles in Niger’s Aïr
Mont Takoulkouzet is located in the Aïr and Ténéré National Nature Reserve (ATNNR). The reserve shelters several emblematic wildlife species including the dama gazelle (Nanger dama), which is one of the most endangered antelopes on the planet. Since 2017, a project has been funded by the African World Heritage Fund (AWHF) and the NGO Sahara…
-
Threats to Egyptian Vultures
The Egyptian Vulture is facing an important decline worldwide, and the Balkans have not been spared: from the hundreds of pairs historically present in the peninsula, about 70 pairs only are remaining, the population being victim of a 7% decline yearly for the past 30 years. This rapid decline is hard to prevent as it…
-
Expanding oil exploration threatens one of the Sahara’s largest nature reserves
Created in 2012, Niger’s Termit and Tin Toumma National Nature Reserve is the last region of the Sahara relatively undisturbed by human activity. But expanding oil exploration threatens this sanctuary for 130 bird and 17 mammal species, including the critically endangered addax. https://psmag.com/environment/oil-exploration-threatens-large-nature-preserve-in-the-sahara
-
Egyptian vulture conservation: latest field activities
Vultures face many threats which vary a lot depending on their location, ranging from electrocution to poaching. As part of the Egyptian Vultures NEW LIFE project, SCF conducted a survey to understand the threats faced by the birds in Niger. Poaching had already been reported in the country, which encouraged the team to first focus…
-
North African Ostrich Recovery Project: setting up new facilities
In partnership with the Wildlife Conservation Network (WCN), Kellé, Niger, created by Sahara Conservation a few years ago. SC’s ambitious goal to reintroduce the species into the wild. The recent installation of a solar-powered hatchery and incubation unit is now allowing the organization to get closer to this goal. The containers have been successfully brought…
-
News from the 8 recently translocated West African giraffes in Niger
8 West African giraffes (3 males and 5 females) ( Giraffa camelopardalis peralta ) were recently circulated from their area of Kouré 60 km south-east of Niamey, to the Gadabedji Biosphere Reserve more than 800 km away. As part of Niger’s national West African giraffe conservation strategy, the aim of this operation is to provide…
-
Four Dama Gazelles Recently Observed In Niger
The National Nature Reserve of Aïr and Ténéré in Niger is home to some iconic animal species – among which the dama gazelle (Nanger dama), one of the most endangered antelopes on the planet. Due to human activity in the valleys – the dama gazelle has found refuge on the mountain Takoloukouzet, which is located…
-
West African Giraffe return to Gadabedji Biosphere Reserve after 50 years of absence
Eight West African giraffe travelled over 800 kilometers in 48 hours to be safely re-introduced to the Gadabedji Biosphere Reserve in Niger, after an absence of almost 50 years. The Giraffe Conservation Foundation and Sahara Conservation Fund announce the safe re-introduction of eight highly threatened West African giraffe into Gadabedji Biosphere Reserve (recently listed as a Biosphere Reserve by…
-
Niger will use drones to protect almost extinct addax antelopes
Oft times when we talk about endangered animals in Afrika at risk of extinction or being poached we think mostly of elephants and rhinos. This can be attributed to various factors including increased publicity around the increasing threats that rhinos and elephants face from poachers. https://www.iafrikan.com/2018/11/27/niger-turns-to-drones-to-protect-precious-wildlife
-
New observations of dama gazelles in the wild
The Takolokouzet Massif is located in the Aïr & Ténéré National Nature Reserve in Niger. It is home to some iconic species, including the Barbary sheep and the dama gazelle, one of the most endangered antelopes on the planet. It is on Takolokouzet’s plateaus that the reserve’s last dama gazelles find refuge from disturbance and…