TOGETHER FOR THE SAHARA AND THE SAHEL: 2025 HIGHLIGHTS
As 2025 draws to a close, we wanted to take a moment to share some of the year’s highlights, and above all, to warmly thank you for standing alongside Sahara Conservation.
Your support enables us, year after year, to turn long-term commitments into tangible action on the ground.
CONSERVING CRITICAL LANDSCAPES
2025 was a pivotal year for the Ouadi Rimé – Ouadi Achim Faunal Reserve (OROAFR) in Chad, with the signing of a ten-year management agreement between the Chadian Government and Sahara Conservation. This public-private partnership, building on more than two decades of collaboration, lays the foundation for structured and sustainable management of the country’s largest protected area.
The conclusion of the ALBIA project was another major milestone: four years of work to improve protected area management and strengthen resilience to climate change. Our teams enhanced monitoring capacity, built local capacity, upgraded infrastructure, and led awareness campaigns and wildfire prevention initiatives.
Building on this momentum, the signing of a new project for OROAFR, supported and co-funded by the European Union under the NaturAfrica initiative, opens an ambitious new chapter. The project aims to strengthen reserve governance, safeguard its exceptional biodiversity, and sustainably improve the livelihoods of local communities.
TOGETHER FOR THE SAHARA AND THE SAHEL: 2025 HIGHLIGHTS
In 2025, two field missions in the Termit massif, in Niger, yielded updated data on Saharan biodiversity in this key landscape. These missions confirmed the presence of a mosaic of still-functioning habitats and remarkable biodiversity, despite persistent pressures such as poaching.
SAVEGUARDING ICONIC SPECIES
Wildlife resilience
After a particularly challenging 2024, marked by extreme weather and heavy wildlife losses, 2025 highlighted the resilience of Sahelo-Saharan ecosystems. Rainfall during the wet season encouraged vegetation regrowth and a noticeable improvement in antelope populations.
Conservation success
Just a few years ago, such scenes would have been unimaginable. Today, addax, scimitar-horned oryx, and dama gazelles roam freely in OROAFR, demonstrating the success of two decades of conservation work.
Vulture conservation
Meanwhile, our work on vultures in Chad has, for the first time, identified major threats to these species, notably from poisoning and trafficking for belief-based uses. We continue our community outreach in Chad and Niger to reduce these threats and promote species protection.
WORKING WITH AND FOR LOCAL COMMUNITIES
Healthcare missions
In 2025, four healthcare missions and one dental mission provided medical care to over 430 people in remote areas of Niger and to 900 in Chad, in partnership with Education et Santé sans Frontière (Esafro) and local healthcare actors. At the end of the year, 220 children and around 100 adults also benefited from vaccination campaigns in Chad.
Environmental education
At the same time, environmental education programs reached more than 1,000 students in Koutous, Aïr and Gadabedji Biosphere Reserve, in Niger, encouraging them to become vital advocates for conservation within their communities. We developed new communication materials tailored to young audiences and provided school supplies.
Koutous Sports & Nature Games
After a highly successful first edition, the Koutous Sports & Nature Games returned this summer! In partnership with Play for Nature and APRC Mécénat, this innovative initiative uses sport to foster community spirit and raise awareness among young people about the importance of protecting the environment. Each competition provides Sahara Conservation teams with an opportunity to engage participants and spectators on conservation topics.
STRENGTHENING PARTNERSHIPS
Sahel & Sahara Interest Group
This year, we strengthened our collaborative efforts by signing new Memoranda of Understanding with key partners, including the National Agency of Water and Forestry of Morocco, the General Directorate of Water and Forests of Niger, Saint Louis Zoo, and African Parks in Chad. These agreements mark an important step forward in aligning our shared goals and advancing conservation initiatives across the Sahara and Sahel regions.
New collaboration agreements with Tunisia’s Directorate General of Forests, the Conservatory and Botanical Garden of Geneva, Esafro, and the Programme de Renforcement de l’élevage pastoral (PREPAS), further strengthen a network of partners committed to science-based, dialogue-driven, and long-term conservation action.