Sites - Important Bird Areas (IBAs)

Ornithological information See Box and Table 2 for key species. In addition, two species characteristic of the Sahel biome (A03) are known from the site (see Table 2).

Site description The Boucle du Baoulé Biosphere Reserve is located in the south of the country, some 160 km north-west of the capital Bamako. The Biosphere Reserve incorporates the Boucle du Baoulé National Park and the contiguous faunal reserves of Badinko to the south-west, Fina to the south-east and Kongossambougou to the north-east. All except the last, which lies its northern side, are enclosed within the large loop of the Baoulé river which gives the reserve system its name. The area is almost entirely sandstone, cut by erosion into a series of plateaux, dissected by valleys and flood-plains. In the south there are steep escarpments flanking large valleys. The rivers within the reserve are semi-permanent. The vegetation is semi-arid Sahelian bushland in the north and Sudan–Guinea Savanna woodland in the south (Combretum, Acacia, Butyrospermum and Isoberlinia spp.). Dense riverine forest occurs along the Baoulé river and its major tributaries, as well as bordering marshes and larger lakes. The herbaceous layer is characterized by perennial grasses, notably Andropogon gayanus. There are human settlements within the site and human use is increasing, particularly in the north. Most of the region (>90%) is burnt each year from mid-October. Mean annual rainfall varies between 650 mm in the north and 1,000 mm in the south.

Populations of IBA trigger species

Protected areas

Protected area	Designation	Area (ha)	Relationship with IBA	Overlap with IBA (ha)
Baoulé	National Park	187,762	protected area contained by site	187,762
Parc national de la Boucle du Baoulé	UNESCO-MAB Biosphere Reserve	2,500,000	protected area contains site	709,800

Habitats

Land use

Other biodiversity Of the larger mammals which once occurred in the reserve, Loxodonta africana (EN), Giraffa camelopardalis (LR/cd) and Tragelaphus derbianus (LR/nt) are known to have been eliminated. Some of the following may still occur, although any that do are likely to be at low densities: Panthera leo (VU) and Acinonyx jubatus (VU).

Management considerations The site was declared a Biosphere Reserve in 1982, and some modifications to its boundaries were made in 1994 which resulted in a reduction in the size of its core area. The area has a long history of human use and agriculture, and grazing and wood-cutting have all affected the current character of the savanna such that the remaining habitat is highly degraded. The reserve is under pressure from ground-nut-growers, transhumant pastoralists, poachers, hunters, firewood-cutters and sedentary farmers. Annual burning has degraded much of the wooded savanna habitat.

References De Bie and Morgan (1989), IUCN (1987).

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Recommended citation  BirdLife International (2013) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Boucle du Baoulé. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 19/06/2013

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