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!