20th Annual Meeting of the Sahelo-Saharan Interest Group

The Sahelo-Saharan Interest Group (SSIG) meeting has been an annual forum for all those working in wildlife conservation within the arid areas of North Africa and the Middle East since 2001 (except in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Facilitated by the Sahara Conservation Fund, the meeting provides an opportunity to bring people together to share ideas and projects, and to continue a strong tradition of collaboration on behalf of Sahelo-Saharan wildlife and people.

This year’s meeting will be online and will include a series of presentations and round-table discussions covering a range of topical issues. 

As in the previous years, the aim is to address some of the major issues in Sahel-Sahara, while at the same time enabling the fruitful exchanges that characterize our meetings. However, the virtual format will be different from the meetings in person.

The meeting will be structured around three sessions with specific topics. Each session will last 3 hours (from 2 to 5 pm; European Time, GMT+1).

Day 1 (May 18) ‘Geopolitics, climate change and society and in the Sahelo-Saharan region’
Day 2 (May 19) ‘Large-scale conservation and development’
Day 3 (May 20) ‘Species and site conservation’

Each topic will be introduced by at least one pre-recorded presentation by a leading expert on the topic.

It will be followed by accepted presentations from participants, which can be either delivered at the time or have been pre-recorded.

We are exploring the potential for translations in French and English.

Abstracts will be collected through the registration form until April, 20. Registration is open until May, 1. 

One feature of SSIG meetings is the value of informal workshops, subject-specific meetings, and side events.  We will endeavor to provide opportunity for all these, and we will ask in advance for intentions to hold such events.

There will be adequate time allocated for discussions, using chat box or facilities for break-out groups.

We also hope that participants will be able to organize further events as the main meeting is under way. We encourage proposals for continuing webinars or discussion opportunities at intervals over the coming months, giving extra value to the interests of SSIG participants and the Sahara Conservation Fund.