
In a region where water scarcity is a daily challenge, the Sahelian wetlands are crucial for millions of people. These wetlands underpin pastoral, agricultural, and economic activities. They also support an incredibly rich and unique biodiversity, and are home to millions of waterbirds, many of which are migratory species that breed in Europe and Asia.
However, these ecosystems face significant threats, including climate change, uncontrolled agricultural development, water supply projects, intensive natural resource use, invasive aquatic species, and unsustainable hunting. These pressures are rapidly degrading the wetlands, dramatically altering habitats and severely impacting Sahelian waterbird populations.
The RESSOURCE+ Project ("Strengthening Expertise in South Sahara on Birds and their Rational Use for Communities and their Environment") addresses these challenges and seeks to preserve wetland ecosystems, understand the use of waterbird populations by rural communities, and promote sustainable wetland management. RESSOURCE+ Project seeks innovative solutions and a robust legal framework to balance human development with biodiversity conservation.
The RESSOURCE+ activities, coordinated by FAO, are implemented by technical partners recognized for their expertise (BirdLife Int., Cirad, OMPO, OFB, Tour du Valat, University of Liège, Wetlands Int.), in collaboration with national authorities and local wildlife institutions.
Component 1: Community rights and governance
An analysis of the compliance of national legal and regulatory provisions with the obligations of the Ramsar Convention and the AEWA Agreement was undertaken for Chad, Mali, Senegal, Sudan and Egypt. Four analyses have been completed and are available on the SWM Programme Legal Hub. Recommendations have been made to align national legal frameworks with these international agreements. All relevant legal texts, regulations, strategies, and policies related to wildlife conservation and wetland management are available on the SWM Programme's Legal Hub.
Component 2: Sustainable management of the waterbird resource
Under the International Waterbird Census (IWC) scheme, large-scale annual waterbird inventories have been conducted in ten major Sahelian wetlands to enhance knowledge of waterbird populations. The data collected has been processed and consolidated into a database developed specifically by the project, ensuring easier data sharing with relevant international agreements. Studies on waterbird harvesting and consumption were carried out at all project sites, highlighting the Nile Delta in Egypt and the Inner Delta of Niger in Mali for having marketing chains to urban areas. In other sites, waterbirds are harvested for local rural consumption or trade. At lake Fitri in Chad the bird census data and by-catch data were cross-referenced, suggesting unsustainable levels of offtake for five of the eight investigated species, despite uncertainties due to limited demographic knowledge. We also highlighted that waterbirds play a significant role in food security for some local communities.
Component 3: Conservation, management and rational development of wetlands
The project has supported the Ramsar designation and management of two wetlands:
Component 4: Capacity building and scaling up
Numerous training sessions, capacity-building activities, and training of trainers programs were conducted. These included publishing scientific articles in international journals, organizing technical workshops, and creating technical and methodological user guides In order to ensure the sustainability of these learning tools and support the emergence of a community of experts in ecological monitoring of waterbirds, the RESSOURCE Project is developing a free online Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) titled "Waterbirds census and identification in North Africa and the Sahel – How and for What Purposes?", featuring over 35 hours of learning divided into six modules.
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