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Wildlife Without Borders:Conserving the Sahelo-Saharan
Antelopes of North Africa
The Sahara
• - World’s biggest desert• 3 million square miles• Bigger than Australia• 11 times the size of Texas• - Bordered by the Sahel• - Shared by 14 countries• Less than 5” rainfall• Not a barren wasteland!• - Great habitat diversity• - Many threatened species
A Barren Wilderness?
Habitat Diversity
Acacia trees
Steppes
Grasslands
Sand seas
Water and Mountains
Gueltas
Oasis
• Prolonged drought
• Desertification and loss of pasture
• Habitat encroachment
• Over-hunting
• Chronic lack of resources for conservation
• Lack of awareness/interest in aridlands
Threats to Wildlife
Going…
Large species in big trouble• Addax: critically endangered <300 in the wild• Dama gazelle: critically endangered <500 in the wild• Dorcas gazelle: locally extinct in many places
going…
Other species too• Ostrich: desert race virtually extinct• Cheetah: desert race extremely rare• Barbary Sheep: isolated and highly vulnerable
gone!
Oryx is the largest mammal extinct in the past 30 years• Last photo of oryx in the wild taken in Niger in 1980• Last oryx late-80s or early 90s• Zoos and private collections are the last hope• Projects in Tunisia, Senegal, Morocco
First Action Plan by CMS
• Conference of the Parties in 1998 (Djerba)
• First CMS initiative focused on terrestrial mammals -- six antelopes
• 14 Sahelo-Saharan range states
- 1998: Like-minded individuals who attended the Djerba
Conference formed the Sahelo-Saharan Interest Group (SSIG)
- 2004: SCF is the formal structure (not for profit organization) based in
Switzerland (John Newby, CEO; Steve Monfort, President)
SCF’s mission: To conserve wildlife and key habitats in
partnership with stake-holders from all sectors of society
Sahara Conservation Fund
First SCF-Sponsored Wildlife SurveysScience-based approaches to conservation
NIGER
CHAD• - Assess current status-threats (wildlife, habitat quality, land-use)
• Assist governments and agencies
• Mobilize support for the CMS Action Plan
• Identify solutions and actions
• Coordinate with local players
2001
2002
SCF Database Since 2001: Situation is Critical!
SPECIES IUCN RED DATA LIST (2006)
SCF COMMENTS & OBSERVATIONS*
Scimitar-horned Oryx Extinct in the wild Last known animals in the 1990s (Chad, Niger)
Addax Critically Endangered Less than 300 in 1-2 populations (Niger, Chad)
Dama Gazelle Critically Endangered Less than 300 in 3-4 isolated populations (Niger, Chad, Mali)
Slender-horned Gazelle
Endangered Limited to the sand seas of North Africa. Status unknown.
Cuvier’s Gazelle Vulnerable Limited to North African uplands. Status poorly known.
Dorcas Gazelle Vulnerable Highly threatened throughout by uncontrolled hunting.
Cheetah Vulnerable Saharan populations extremely rare and endangered.
Striped Hyena Lower Risk Sahelo-Saharan populations highly endangered by persecution.
Fennec Data Deficient Sahelo-Saharan populations appear satisfactory.
Pale Fox Data Deficient Sahelian populations extremely vulnerable to poisoning.
Rüppell’s Fox Data Deficient Research required to assess status.
Ostrich Least Concern Sahelo-Saharan populations virtually extinct in the wild.
Lappet-faced Vulture Vulnerable Naturally sparse. Threatened by persecution.
Nubian Bustard Near Threatened Impact of intensive hunting unknown and needing research.
Sudan Bustard Least Concern Sahelian populations highly vulnerable from over-hunting.
Spurred Tortoise Vulnerable Very few known healthy Sahelian populations.
When Data Compiled: Priority Countries
Ad
dax
Sci
mit
ar-h
orn
ed O
ryx
D
ama
Gaz
elle
Sle
nd
er-h
orn
ed G
azel
le
Do
rcas
Gaz
elle
Cu
vier
’s G
azel
le
Red
-fro
nte
d G
azel
le*
Bar
bar
y S
hee
p*
Ch
eeta
h*
Ost
rich
*
To
tal
Algeria 2 1 3 3 3 3 0 3 3 1 22Burkina Faso 0 1 1 0 2 0 3 0 0 1 8
Chad 3 1 3 2 3 0 3 3 2 1 21Djibouti 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 3
Egypt 1 1 0 3 3 0 0 3 2 1 14Eritrea 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 3
Ethiopia 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 (3) (3) 3Libya 1 1 1 2 3 0 0 3 1 1 13
Mali 2 1 3 0 3 0 3 3 2 1 18Mauritania 2 1 1 0 3 0 1 3 2 1 14
Morocco 1 1 1 0 3 3 0 3 2 1 15Niger 3 1 3 2 3 0 1 3 3 3 22
Nigeria 0 1 1 0 2 0 1 0 0 1 6Senegal 0 1 1 0 1 0 3 0 1 3 10Somalia 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 3
Sudan 1 1 2 2 3 0 2 2 2 1 16Tunisia 1 1 1 3 3 3 0 3 1 1 17
Scale: 0 (least) to 3 (most)
2003Conference of the Parties in Agadir:
What do stakeholders want?
Priorities:
• Training—Capacity Building (e.g., husbandry training EAZA/AZA, ranger training etc.)
• Ex situ captive breeding programs
• Reintroductions
• Sustainable hunting!
• Field surveys and monitoring
• Trans-boundary park formation
Obstacles to Cooperation
• - Transboundary conflict• - Civil unrest – tribal conflict• Nationalism• - Chronic lack of funding and
international support• Insufficient incentives for
cooperation• General lack of interest in
aridlands• - Insufficient management
expertise
Before TB parksSCF Priority Conservation Sites
Chad/Niger: Last Sites for Key Species
SCF Vision: Addax Without Borders
Evidence of Addax Crossing the Border
Priority: Addax Project (Niger-Chad)
• Saving the world’s last addax
• Creating vast new protected areas
• Applying science & research to management
• Community-based action, management and custodianship
Focal Area in NigerTermit – Tin Toumma Protected Area
25-50% of the animals left on earth!
Maurice Ascani
• Best remaining refuge for Saharan wildlife
• Addax, dama gazelle, cheetah, Barbary sheep• Establishment of protected area• Wildlife inventory and ecological monitoring
Francoise Claro
Desert cheetah
Termit/Tin Toumma Project
41%59%
Overall 2-yr Budget ~$500,000
An SCF – CMS Partnership
Role of Zoos & Private Collections
• - Captive-breeding & reintroduction
• - Science & research
• Husbandry & veterinary care
• Training & capacity building
• - Awareness & education
• Vital insurance policy
*huge opportunity for “win-win” partnerships with private collections in Gulf States
SCF Reintroduction Projects
• Partnership with CMS, North-American and European Zoos
• Expensive & complex (meta-population management strategies)
• Pilot projects with addax & scimitar-horned oryx ongoing in Tunisia and Morocco
Foreign Hunting Parties• - SCF is not anti-hunting• Gazelles & bustards
hardest hit• Sustainability is key• Legality and ethics• Corruption is rife• Lack of management• - Quotas & control
needed• - Sustainable models
possible
Recent Activities • Algeria wildlife surveys 2006: cheetah (confirmed presence) and
small gazelles• Mission to Chad 2006: only 9 addax, but Ouadi Rimé-Ouadi Achim
Game Reserve still holds what most abundant population of dorcas gazelles left in the wild
• Aerial Survey in Mali 2005: 6,552 km² of the South Tamesna. only 3 dama gazelles spotted, along with several dozens of dorcas gazelles
• Tunisia reintroduction
ERG OCCIDENTAL
ERG ERRAOUI
Recent survey: Algeria (March 2007)• Distribution of slender-horned gazelles far East to West• Dorcas gazelles present everywhere (but number of individuals has
decreased in 20 years)• Training in survey/monitoring techniques
Annual SSIG MeetingConservation and Science Forum
Information Sharing
• Hannover Zoo, Germany -- May 31 – Jun 1 2007
Partnership is the Key!
…support for conservation is derived from stakeholders across all sectors of society
Getting Deserts on the Map!
Thanks for listening!