The Proceedings of the second regional seminar on the conservation and restoration of Sahelo-Saharan Antelopes have just been published. They will be distributed as a CMS Technical Series Publication to all relevant organizations. Representatives of eleven Range States of the six endangered Sahelo-Saharan antelopes species had met in Agadir, Morocco from 1-5 May 2003, to discuss the status of conservation of these species and their habitats in the various Range States. Algeria, Burkina Faso, Chad, Ethiopia, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Senegal, Sudan and Tunisia were the Range States represented at the meeting. The CMS Secretariat convened this seminar on behalf of the Conference of the Parties, with the assistance and support of the Government of Morocco, the Belgian Royal Institute of Natural Sciences (IRSNB) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

The main purpose of the Agadir Seminar was to review the conservation status of the respective species and their habitats and inform the participating Range States, supporting countries, NGOs and IGOs about the various actions, which have been taken to implement the Djerba Action Plan so far. In addition to reviewing and assessing the projects resulting from the first meeting in Djerba, Tunisia, in 1998 the participants of this follow-up meeting produced an update to the Action Plan and consulted on further projects. An abstract of the result of the Agadir meeting can be found in the “Agadir Declaration” (PDF format).

The submitted national reports showed that the status of the Sahelo-Saharan antelope populations as a whole has further worsened during the last five years: Sahelo-Saharan antelopes in the wild were in an increasingly critical situation and there was an urgent need to implement the Action Plan. Poaching, constant hunting, drought and desertification continue to be the main threats to the species’ survival. Participants have noted that hunters and falconers are still causing serious harm to wildlife in the Sahelo-Saharan region while antelopes are on the brink of extinction. Therefore the political authorities of the countries concerned, as well as hunters and falconers are called upon to respect the legislation of the Range States of Sahelo-Saharan antelopes. The States concerned confirmed their commitments by their ratifying the international convention to restore and maintain sustainable populations of these species.

According to the Agadir Declaration CMS will take the appropriate steps with the authorities of all the respective countries concerned. The objective is to implement the appropriate technical and institutional measures to put an end to all practices of capture that are not in conformity with the legal provisions or the sustainable use of resources.

The seminar has adopted the revised Djerba Action Plan that will be distributed to all relevant organizations at a national and international level. The Range States of Sahelo-Saharan antelopes expressed their willingness to develop and conclude an Agreement or Memorandum of Understanding under the auspices of CMS. This will provide a framework for the species’ long-term conservation and management. A working group has been set up to assist in the preparation of a draft.

Click here to download the Proceedings of the second regional seminar on the conservation and restoration of Sahelo-Saharan Antelopes (CMS Technical Series No.8)

Click here for more information on CMS efforts regarding Sahelo-Saharan antelopes