| Originally posted
on the CMS website: 01.02.2004
News on Sahelo-Saharan Antelopes
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.
Originally posted on the
CMS website:
09.05.2003 Action under way to conserve
North African Antelope
 First
the bad news. Five years after the first inventory
on the occurrence of antelopes and gazelles
of six Northern African species listed as “endangered”
in Appendix I of CMS, it has become evident
that the numbers of animals in the wild are
in further dramatic decline. However, there
is some good news, too. At the recent CMS Seminar
of Range States, IGOs, NGOs and individual experts,
it was found that a stable number of animals
of most of the species are held in captivity
in zoos and private parks all over Europe and
North America.
At the meeting, which was held in Agadir, Morocco
from 1-5 May 2003, the status reports for the
respective species were updated, and the Djerba
Action Plan was updated and amended. The participants
received information on the status of the development
and carrying out of projects to implement the
Action Plan and collected proposals on what
further projects or identified species, habitats
and regions should be developed.
 In
a brief excursion to the Souss-Massa National
Park, 30 kilometres south of Agadir, experts
from zoos and aquaria in Europe and North America
established in that a third of the world’s
resources of addax (Addax nasomaculatus) are
found in this park. They informed the Moroccan
authorities and the participants of the meeting
that the value of this captive population is
extremely high: The animals are in their natural
surroundings, stay together in a few herds in
the same place, can develop in natural surroundings
and do not require transport from one continent
to another. Moreover, at least the European
scattered small stocks are at risk of catching
diseases such as foot-and-mouth and BSE which,
if transferred to Northern Africa, could cause
a major disaster..
Representing the Host Government, Mr. M. Anechoum,
the Head of the Moroccan Department for Waters,
Forests and Combat against Desertification,
welcomed the participants of the meeting and
promised to provide all assistance to make the
it a success. He achieved this by providing
excellent conference facilities as well as a
group of experienced and dedicated staff members
such as Director General of the same Department
Dr. M. Ankouz, the CMS Scientific Councillor,
Dr. H. El Mastour, and almost the entire staff
of the Souss-Massa National Park administration
headed by Dr. M. Ribi. The team of the Belgian
Royal Institute for Natural Sciences (IRSNB)
saw to the technical organisation. The meeting
was followed by the 5th Meeting of the SSIG
(Sahelo-Saharan Antelope Interest Group).
picture above:
from left to right M. Anechoum, M.Haffane, A.
Müller-Helmbrecht, Dr. M.R. Gouin (Agence
Française de Developpement)
picture below: Dr. R. Beudels-Jamar de Bolsee
(IRSNB), Scientific Councillor Belgium
|
Originally posted on
the CMS website:
01.02.2003
A new attempt to save Sahelo-Saharan Antelopes
In April 2002, the French authorities
approved a project on the conservation of Sahelo-Saharan
Antelopes. This project deals with six large ungulate
species, namely Scimitar-horned Oryx, Addax, Dama
Gazelle, Slender-horned Gazelle, Cuvier's Gazelle
and Dorcas Gazelle. As flagship species of the Sahara
and the Sahel, they can be also seen as indicator
species for the status of the biodiversity of these
desert and sub-desert habitats.
Following the Djerba workshop on the conservation
and restoration of Sahelo-Saharan antelopes in February
1998, during which all of the fourteen Range States
adopted a regional Action Plan, the first project
was identified as an attempt to implement parts of
the CMS Action Plan. The project will be financed
by the FFEM (Fonds Français pour l'Environnement
Mondial). It includes conservation measures and
research activities in seven countries (Chad, Mali,
Morocco, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and Tunisia).
There is a special focus on three pilot projects in
Mali, Niger and Tunisia.
The overall aim is to conserve and reintroduce the
ungulate species in their original range and to restore
suitable habitats. In order to achieve this, the project
aims at setting up the necessary institutional, regulatory
and human frameworks as well as the preservation of
the last vestiges of natural environments and the
restoration of habitats on the basis of historic data.
Local communities will be involved in the conservation
work linking the project hereby to socio-economic
development and to efforts to combat desertification.
It is further planned to develop an environmental
friendly tourism and to promote sustainable use of
natural resources in the region.
As the implementing organization, CMS is responsible
for the management, coordination and administration
of the project. It is supported by the Office National
de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage (ONFS) and
the Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique
(IRSNB). The Standing Committee of CMS recently
decided to establish a Project Review Group that is
composed of five international experts on these species
and their habitats. It will play an important role
in the supervision and evaluation of the envisaged
project.
The Seventh Meeting of the Conference of the Parties
to CMS (COP 7) in September 2002 dealt inter alia
with the Sahelo-Saharan antelopes. It acknowledged
the progress made to date to implement the Action
Plan adopted in Djerba and agreed to the future role
of the CMS Secretariat as fund manager and administrator
for the FFEM project. In addition, the CMS Member
States supported the Secretariat's plan to develop
an agreement in close contact with the CMS Sahelo-Saharan
Antelope Working Group as requested by the Djerba
Workshop.
Originally
posted on the CMS website:
10.03.1999
PRESS RELEASE
New blood for endangered Saharan
Antelopes: Major action to release captive-bred
Antelopes into the wild in Southern Tunisia
On Wednesday, 10 March 1999, a series
of unusual loads travelled through several parts of
Europe: from seven zoos in six European countries
lorries transported captive-bred Antelopes to Ostende
in Belgium. 14 Scimitar-horned Oryx and 2 Slender-horned
Gazelles, will be flown on Thursday evening, 11 March
1999 in a Boeing 707 to the island of Djerba, Tunisia.
From there, the animals will be taken to the Sidi
Toui National Park in the desert region of Southern
Tunisia.
These animals will form the ground stock for the
recovery of wild populations of these endangered species.
Initially they will be kept in fenced-in areas where
they are expected to reproduce, according to Tunisian
and international Antelope specialists. When their
numbers have reached a sufficient level, they will
be released back into the desert areas which constitute
their home habitat. In the meantime, a plan to educate
local populations to coexist with the Antelopes will
be put into force.
All efforts are being made for a safe and comfortable
journey of the animals. Two wardens and a veterinarian
will accompany them during the transport from Ostende
to their destination in Tunisia and, thereafter, two
experts will survey the animals’ one month quarantine
and re-adaptation to their new surrounding. During
this 5 month period they will train local staff of
the National Park and run a scientific study to provide
useful advice for future ventures of the same kind.
The Executive Secretary of the Bonn Convention on
Migratory Species, who coordinated the activities
from his office in Bonn, Germany, stated that it will
be an even greater challenge for the world community
to prove that it can be as effective in re-establishing
wild animals and their ecosystems as men have been
in their destruction. Also, he notes that the conservation
of animal and plant species in their natural surroundings
would be much cheaper and easier than their re-establishment
after extinction. He expressed his admiration for
the dedicated people who invested more than a year
of intensive organisation and preparation to transfer
this venture into action.
For more information please contact:
UNEP/CMS Secretariat,
Martin-Luther-King-Str. 8, D-53175 Bonn, Germany
Tel.: +49 228-815-2401;
Fax: +49 228-815-2449
E-mail: cms@unep.de;
Web site: http://www.unep-wcmc.org/cms
Background Information
This venture is part of an overall Action Plan which
the governments of 14 Sahelo-Saharan states, together
with internationally reputed specialists, inter
alia from IUCN and WWF International have elaborated
under the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS or
Bonn Convention) in order to reestablish viable populations
of six Antelope species in an area which is larger
than the entire continent of Australia.
Actually the six Antelope species which were quite
common in the region until approximately three decades
ago have been almost completely eliminated through
over-hunting, overstocking with live-stock, degradation
of landscape and other human-related activities. It
will be a challenge to revert this trend and to refill
the region with the animals which are well-adapted
to the climate and their surroundings and which could
again become a major tool for economic development
in the entire region. Actually Antelopes have proven
to support the recovery of vegetation, whereas goats,
sheep, livestock and camels have the reputation of
destroying it. Antelopes could become an incentive
for reestablishing tourism, including hunting tourism
if the reestablishment of viable antelope populations
proves to be successful in the future.
The names of the six Antelope species some of which
are extinct in the wild and others have become extremely
rare, are:
| Latin |
English |
Français |
German |
| Oryx dammah
Addax nasomaculatus
Gazella cuvieri
Gazella dama
Gazella dorcas
Gazella leptoceros |
Scimitar-horned
Oryx
Addax
Cuvier's Gazelle
Dama Gazelle
Dorcas Gazelle
Slender-horned Gazelle |
oryx algazelle
addax au nez tacheté
gazelle de Cuvier
gazelle dama
gazelle dorcas
gazelle leptocère |
Säbelantilope
Mendesantilope
Atlasgazelle
Damagazelle
Dorkasgazelle
Dünengazelle |
The Zoological Gardens which contribute to the release
of captive bred animals are:
Bratislava zoo in Slovakia,
Dvur Kralove zoo in the Czech Republic,
Paris zoo, France,
La Palmire, France
Parco Faunistico Le Cornelle, Italy
Zoo Leipzig, Germany
Zoo Plankendael, Flemish region, Belgium.
Belgium plays a major role in the current venture:
The Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique
(Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Science) elaborated
the Recovery Action Plan and the Flemish Environment
Ministry provides the funds for the transport and
release of the 16 Antelopes.
A number of Zoos in Europe have established a network
for captive breeding activities, the European Endangered
Species Programme (EEP). Already in former years
release of captive bred Antelopes had been organised,
especially in Tunisia and Morocco, with very good
success.
The Bonn Convention is a United Nations-based global
convention aiming at the conservation and management
of animal species which migrate over long distances
thus crossing national borders. These species require
the coordinated and concerted action of countries
through which the animals migrate. The Secretariat
of the Convention is located in Bonn, Germany. It
is co-located with the Secretariats of the Framework
Convention on Climate Change and the Convention to
Combat Desertification. This year, on 23 June, the
Convention celebrates the 20th anniversary
of its signing on 23 June 1999. CMS provides coordinated
conservation, inter alia for a large variety
of migratory species including waterbirds (such as
cranes, storks, swans, geese and flamingos), marine
turtles, dolphins, small whales and bats. Approximately
10,000 species worldwide are migratory.
|
