Conservation of the last savannah animals in West Africa: challenges and call for action

Abstract

ABSTRACT The fauna of savannah in West Africa has considerably reduced over the last century. To conserve the fauna, particularly the large mammals, a cross-border nature preserve was created years ago, the W Park in Niger. Travelling through the Park to assess the wealth of wildlife revealed an abundant fauna of antelopes, buffaloes, elephants, hippos and lions, and many other species. There are important areas of archaeological interest within the Park, including the likely first iron foundries of the African continent. The Park is threatened by illegal hunting, poaching, wood extraction, and mining industries. The W Park is inadequately guarded and supervised and tourists, because of security threats in the region do not visit it. All signs indicate that the future of the W Park and the survival of its large savannah mammals is very uncertain. A stronger effort by governments to support the W Park and to provide adequate management for preservation of wildlife and improved harmonisation of living conditions for ethnic villages is needed.