Ramsar sites in

Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...

refer to the six sites designated as

Ramsar Ramsar may refer to: * Places so named: ** Ramsar, Mazandaran, city in Iran ** Ramsar, Rajasthan, village in India * Eponyms of the Iranian city: ** Ramsar Convention concerning wetlands, signed in Ramsar, Iran ** Ramsar site, wetland listed in a ...

Wetlands of International Importance in Chad. They cover an area of . They include Lac Fitri, Partie tchadienne du lac Tchad, Plaine de Massenya, Plaines d'inondation des Bahr Aouk et Salamat, and Réserve de faune de Binder-Léré.

Lac Fitri

The Lac Fitri Ramsar Site measures in size and was established on 13 June 1990. The Lake Fitri expands substantially during the rainy season, varying from year to year. Swamps encircle the lake periphery over a length of 150 km. ''

Echinochloa stagnina ''Echinochloa stagnina'' (Burgu millet, bourgou, hippo grass) is a species of ''Echinochloa'' widespread in tropical Africa and Asia, with an invasive status in many Pacific islands. It was once one of the major grasses cultivated in the Inner N ...

'', ''

Vossia cuspidata ''Vossia'' is a monotypic genus in the grass family, found in Asia and Africa. The only known species is ''Vossia cuspidata'', an aquatic grass native to Africa (from Senegal to Egypt, Somalia, south to Namibia), and to Assam, Bangladesh, and ...

'' and '' Nymphaea aquatica'' are the common vegetation types noted while ''

Acacia nilotica ''Vachellia nilotica'', more commonly known as ''Acacia nilotica'', and by the vernacular names of gum arabic tree, babul, thorn mimosa, Egyptian acacia or thorny acacia, is a flowering tree in the family Fabaceae. It is native to Africa, the Mi ...

'' and ''

Mitragyna inermis ''Mitragyna'' is a genus of trees in the family Rubiaceae found in the tropical and subtropical regions of Asia and Africa. Members of this genus contain antimalarial and analgesic indole alkaloids. The Rubiacae are the fifth-largest family of f ...

'' grow in the flooded zone of the lake. The fringe land area around the lake has annual

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...

es and

sedge The Cyperaceae are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as sedges. The family is large, with some 5,500 known species described in about 90 genera, the largest being the "true sedges" genus ''Carex'' wit ...

. Also, as an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

it has both breeding and non-breeding species. It is wintering ground for a large number of Palearctic waterbirds. The large number of bird species recorded here are '' Aythya nyroca'', ''

Balearica pavonina The black crowned crane (''Balearica pavonina'') is a part of the family Gruidae, along with its sister species, the grey crowned crane. It is topped with its characteristic bristle-feathered golden crown. It is usually found in the shallow we ...

'', ''

Ardeola ralloides The squacco heron (''Ardeola ralloides'') is a small heron, long, of which the body is , with wingspan. It is of Old World origins, breeding in southern Europe and the Greater Middle East. Behaviour The squacco heron is a migrant, wintering ...

'', ''

Platalea alba The African spoonbill (''Platalea alba'') is a long-legged wading birdDendrocygna bicolor'', '' Dendrocygna viduata'', '' Anas acuta'', and '' Anas querquedula''. It provides refuge during the drought season to Afrotropical species and elephants. It is also known as a productive fishing lake with an annual fish catch of 3,000 tonnes.

Partie tchadienne du lac Tchad

The Partie tchadienne du lac Tchad Ramsar Site measures in size. It was established as a Ramsar Wetland site in 2001 It is part of the greater transboundary Lake Chad shared with Cameroon, Niger, and Nigeria. The Partie tchadienne du lac Tchad was established under a cooperative effort of the

Government of Chad The Government of Chad has been ruled by Mahamat Déby since 20th April 2021. The Republic of Chad maintains an embassy in the United States at 2401 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington D.C. Cabinet See also * Minister of Foreign Affairs (Ch ...

, the

Lake Chad Basin Commission The Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC or CBLT in French) is an intergovernmental organization that oversees water and other natural resource usage in the basin. There are eight member governments—i.e., Cameroon, Chad, Niger, Nigeria, Algeria, the ...

, the Ramsar Bureau,

World Wide Fund for Nature The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wor ...

(WWF),

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

(IUCN), the

Global Environment Facility The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is a multilateral environmental fund that provides grants and blended finance for projects related to biodiversity, climate change, international waters, land degradation, persistent organic pollutants (POPs ...

(GEF), the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

, and the

United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...

(UNDP). It covers the Chad part of Lake Chad bordering a cordon of dunes on the northeast called the "erg" while the southern limits of the lake consists of plains. It is a composite of "open waters, islets and sandbanks,

polder A polder () is a low-lying tract of land that forms an artificial hydrological entity, enclosed by embankments known as dikes. The three types of polder are: # Land reclaimed from a body of water, such as a lake or the seabed # Flood plains s ...

oases In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...

and temporary and permanent "natron" or alkalai pools" covering all the four nations which share it. Apart from water birds, it has about 150 fish species; the Kouri Ox is an

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

and threatened species here. The lake's flows are regulated and it also helps inn replenishing ground water. It provides livelihood for 3 million fisher folk. Cattle, sheep and camel are also raised on its banks. Blue algae ('' spiruline'') is also an important product from the lake.

Plaine de Massenya

The Plaine de Massenya Ramsar Site measures in size. It was established on 17 October 2008 in southwestern regions of the

Chad Basin The Chad Basin is the largest endorheic basin in Africa, centered on Lake Chad. It has no outlet to the sea and contains large areas of semi-arid desert and savanna. The drainage basin is roughly coterminous with the sedimentary basin of the sam ...

. The Plaine de Massenya wetland consists of freshwater marshes, rivers, streams and creeks. It provides flood moderation, retains the sediment load, and helps in recharge of ground water. Apart from 366 species of birds, there are also wildlife faunal species of African elephant,

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, a ...

Nile crocodile The Nile crocodile (''Crocodylus niloticus'') is a large crocodilian native to freshwater habitats in Africa, where it is present in 26 countries. It is widely distributed throughout sub-Saharan Africa, occurring mostly in the central, eastern ...

and many more. Fish species also are in abundance and they feed on the plant species '' Echinachloa'' that thrive in the lake. People living in the area sustain their livelihood by fishing, agriculture and rearing of livestock.

Plaines d'inondation des Bahr Aouk et Salamat

The Plaines d'inondation des Bahr Aouk et Salamat Ramsar Site measures in size and is one of the world's largest Ramsar sites. It was established on 1 June 2006, and is situated in a natural depression bordering the

Central Africa Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of the ...

. The Plaines d'inondation des Bahr Aouk et Salamat wetland, which also subsumes the Zakouma National Park, provides sustenance to the wildlife of the area. Migratory waterbirds are a common sight. Fauna reported are species of hippos, leopards, elephants and many kinds antelopes. It is an important habitat for fish breeding and the annual fish catch is reported to be 15,000 tonnes. The wetlands fauna is threatened by poaching and vegetation is subject to intense grazing and also forest fires which need to be suitably addressed through community participatory management and environmental education. In this context,

GEF Gef ( ), also referred to as the Talking Mongoose or the Dalby Spook, was the name given to an allegedly talking mongoose which was claimed to inhabit a farmhouse owned by the Irving family. The Irvings' farm was located at Cashen's Gap near ...

has also launched a pilot project in the area. After the civil war which ravaged the area, the Zakouma National Park has been strengthened with induction of elephants, giraffes and lions with assistance from the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

Plaines d'inondation du Logone et les dépressions Toupouri

The Plaines d'inondation du Logone et les dépressions Toupouri Ramsar Site covers an area of . It was established on 14 November 2005 and is one of Africa's largest wetlands. The Plaines d'inondation du Logone et les dépressions Toupouri wetland has number of water bodies in the form of rivers, permanent and temporary ponds, flood plains and lakes. In this widely varying ecosystem, the flora consists of many species including the African

Palmyra palm ''Borassus'' (palmyra palm) is a genus of five species of fan palms, native to tropical regions of Africa, Asia and Papua New Guinea. Description These massive palms can grow up to high and have robust trunks with distinct leaf scars; in so ...

and the néré (''

Parkia biglobosa ''Parkia biglobosa'', known in English as the African locust bean, is a perennial deciduous tree in the family Fabaceae. It is found in a wide range of environments in Africa and is primarily grown for its pods that contain both a sweet pulp and ...

'') which are in the threatened list. The avi fauna consists of Occidental Palearctic and Ethiopian migratory species such as the

black crowned-crane The black crowned crane (''Balearica pavonina'') is a part of the family Gruidae, along with its sister species, the grey crowned crane. It is topped with its characteristic bristle-feathered golden crown. It is usually found in the shallow we ...

spur-winged goose The spur-winged goose (''Plectropterus gambensis'') is a large bird in the family Anatidae, related to the geese and the shelducks, but distinct from both of these in a number of anatomical features, and therefore treated in its own subfamily, th ...

and

whistling duck The whistling ducks or tree ducks are a subfamily, Dendrocygninae, of the duck, goose and swan family of birds, Anatidae. In other taxonomic schemes, they are considered a separate family, Dendrocygnidae. Some taxonomists list only one genu ...

'. Fishing is year round vocation of the people who reside in the wetland. The threats faced in the wetland relate to poaching, overgrazing, forest fires, oil exploration and pesticide. The GEF, World Bank, UNDP and Lake Chad Basin Commission have launched a project for its management.

Réserve de faune de Binder-Léré

Réserve de faune de Binder-Léré Ramsar Site covers an area of . It was established as Ramsar Wetland reserve on 14 November 2005 on the Chad-Cameroonian border in Mayo-Kebbi administrative region. The wetland consists of lakes, ephemeral and perennial streams, and marshes. The Gauthiot Waterfalls on the Gauthiot River acts as barrier for movement of fish species from the

Niger River The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through ...

, upstream into the Lake Chad. The local Moundang tribals hold this falls in veneration. The site hosts a number faunal species of manatee, crocodiles, hippos, and cheetahs which are in the endangered list. It is habitat for waterbirds and some of the species are ''

Dendrocygna The whistling ducks or tree ducks are a subfamily, Dendrocygninae, of the duck, goose and swan family of birds, Anatidae. In other taxonomic schemes, they are considered a separate family, Dendrocygnidae. Some taxonomists list only one genu ...

'' spp., ''

'', ''

Pelecanus rufescens The pink-backed pelican (''Pelecanus rufescens'') is a bird of the pelican family. It is a resident breeder in the swamps and shallow lakes of Africa and southern Arabia; it has also apparently extirpated in Madagascar. Taxonomy The pink-backe ...

'' and ''

Plectropterus gambensis The spur-winged goose (''Plectropterus gambensis'') is a large bird in the family Anatidae, related to the geese and the shelducks, but distinct from both of these in a number of anatomical features, and therefore treated in its own subfamily, th ...

''. Fishing, agriculture, hunting and rearing of livestock are the vocations of the local people for sustenence.

References

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Ramsar sites A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **