Waterbird Atlas of the Sebkhates des Aurès wetland complex

 

Organization: Association nationale algérienne d’Ornithologie (ANAO)
Award Amount: €34 000
Project Type: PROZHUM Small Project
Duration: March 2024 – August 2026
Project Contact: Abdelkirm Si Bachir, si_bachir@yahoo.fr; Imene Benzina, benzina.imene@gmail.com
Keywords: waterbirds; conservation; tools

Summary

The Sebkhates des Aurès wetland complex is located on the high plateaux of eastern Algeria, formerly known as the ‘land of lakes’, and is one of Algeria’s most important regions for waterbird conservation, encompassing 10 Ramsar sites. The first regional observatory waterbird monitoring program, set up by ANAO with AFD and FFEM funding in a 2021 micro-project, has revealed glaring gaps in the knowledge of the complex’s waterbirds.

The aim of this project is to publish an Atlas of the waterbirds of the Sebkhates des Aurès complex, capitalizing on existing monitoring activities and enriching databases with new observations. The Atlas will be published in French and Arabic, with species nomenclature in the local language (Amazigh: Chaoui). The work will involve the participation of naturalist photographers (Algerian Wildlife Watchers Association), the hunters’ federation, local associations (NGOs) and government officials. This Atlas will serve as a tool for the site users, managers and scientists to recognize species, their population status and distribution, and it will be a reference for hunters who are not familiar with which species are authorized or prohibited for hunting. Above all, the Atlas will make it possible to establish consistent, interactive databases to support long-term monitoring and analyses of waterbird populations and the health of wetlands. The development of this Atlas, the first of its kind in Algeria, for birds and other fauna groups, will serve as an initial roadmap for similar work to be developed for other fauna groups.

Objectives

• Establish and define the methodology and tasks of a network of monitoring committees for the Atlas of waterbirds in the Sebkhates des Aurès wetland complex
• Collect data and maintain databases on waterbird status, site mapping, photographic illustrations and the drafting of descriptive sheets for each species.
• Approval of the data sheets for each species, final editing and publication of the work: Atlas des Oiseaux d’Eau du complexe des zones humides ”Sebkhates des Aurès”

Resources

• Learn more about the PROZHUM project

Funding

Agence Française de Développement (AFD) implements France’s policy on international development and solidarity. Through its financing of NGOs and the public sector, as well as its research and publications, AFD supports and accelerates transitions towards a fairer, more resilient world. It also provides training in sustainable development (at AFD Campus) and other awareness-raising activities in France.