In 1994, at the 4th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS COP4), Recommendation 4.5 was adopted, encouraging 15 Range States to develop and implement an action plan for the conservation of Sahelo-Saharan ungulates. In 2008, at CMS COP9, this scope was expanded to include all large, threatened mammals of the region.
By 2020, CMS COP13 extended protections further with Concerted Action 13.4, which added the Red-fronted Gazelle and Barbary Sheep to the list of species covered and expanded the Action’s geographical scope to include Eritrea. The most significant advancement came in 2024 at CMS COP14 with the official establishment of the Sahelo-Saharan Megafauna Initiative (SSMFI) through the amendment of Resolution 9.21 (COP14). The SSMFI now covers seven Appendix I species: the Addax (Addax nasomaculatus), African Wild Ass (Equus africanus), Cuvier's Gazelle (Gazella cuvieri), Dama Gazelle (Nanger dama), Red-fronted Gazelle (Eudorcas rufifrons), Slender-horned Gazelle (Gazella leptoceros), and Dorcas Gazelle (Gazella dorcas). It also includes one Appendix II species, the Barbary Sheep (Ammotragus lervia), and the Scimitar-horned Oryx (Oryx dammah), which is listed under both Appendix I and II. These species are found across the Sahel, Sahara, Danakil Desert, and adjoining desert and semi-desert regions, with Range States including Algeria, Burkina Faso, Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, South Sudan, Sudan, and Tunisia.
Threats and Challenges
Absence of effective policy and legal frameworks threatens species and their habitats by failing to prevent illegal trade, overhunting, poaching, overexploitation of natural resources, and unsustainable pastoralism practices. Climate change intensifies existing challenges by disrupting physiological processes and altering vegetation that species depend on for resources. Changes in rainfall patterns lead to unpredictable droughts, making these already vulnerable habitats increasingly unsuitable for species’ survival. Political conflicts in the region further contribute to instability, impeding both national and transboundary cooperation essential for conservation efforts and delaying necessary actions.
Action Plan
The regional and species-specific action plans were adopted as part of the Initiative through Resolution 9.21 at COP14, while the Roadmap for the Conservation of the African Wild Ass (Equus africanus) 2017-2027 was added to the Initiative. The regional action plan includes the following objectives:
- Align policy and legal frameworks with CMS, CITES, and CBD regulations, while incorporating the conservation of species and habitats into National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs).
- Identify and map key habitats and corridors, integrating their conservation into land-use planning, and restore critical sites in accordance with CMS obligations.
- Review and expand protected area networks, update and implement management plans for these areas, and promote transboundary protected areas to enhance SSMF conservation across borders, ensuring adequate coverage of populations and key corridors.
- Promote transboundary protected areas by expanding networks and updating management plans to strengthen cross-border conservation efforts.
- Assess the current status of all Sahelo-Saharan Megafauna species, take urgent action to prevent the extinction of the most threatened, and ensure the protection of known populations.
- Develop and implement community programs that encourage participatory management of protected areas and value local knowledge.
- Raise public awareness on the importance of conserving Sahelo-Saharan Megafauna species and their habitats.
- Identify the potential impacts of climate change on species and habitats and implement necessary measures to address these threats.
- Strengthen technical capacities for implementing regional and species-specific action plans and enhance resource mobilization to support conservation efforts.
- Foster bilateral and multilateral cooperation to conserve transboundary populations, establish a regional database with an information exchange mechanism, and integrate conservation into broader regional initiatives.
Activities
The Scimitar-horned Oryx holds particular significance in the Initiative as a conservation success story which has been listed in CMS Appendix I and II in 1994 and 1979 respectively. Last recorded in the wild in the 1980s, the species was officially listed as Extinct in the Wild in the early 2000s after disappearing from Sahelian grasslands due to overhunting and severe drought. However, reintroduction programs led by Sahara Conservation and its partners have allowed the species to be downlisted to Endangered on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. This successful reintroduction has paved the way for the potential recovery of other species, such as the Addax and Dama Gazelle, as part of a broader, multi-species conservation effort.