Sites - Important Bird Areas (IBAs)

Ornithological information See Box and Table 2 for key species. The site is important for a very wide variety of waterbirds and seabirds, some occurring in large congregations. The marine and coastal zone, and particularly the sandbars and islands, are of huge importance for breeding terns and gulls. On one island alone (Ile aux Oiseaux) a total of 40,000 nests of four species was recorded in 1991, and the largest breeding colony of Sterna maxima in the world (estimated at 40,000 nests in 1999) also occurs here. This makes Ile aux Oiseaux and the Delta du Saloum IBA the most important breeding site for gulls and terns on the coast of Senegal. The highest counts of wintering Larus audouinii in Senegal are recorded from Palmarin, within the site, where it is frequent to abundant, with a maximum single count of 522 birds in January 1997. Occasional small numbers of Phoenicopterus minor occur on the site and there are also sporadic breeding records for the species, but no recorded numbers and most authors agree that the only known West African breeding site is in Mauritania. In addition, five species of the Guinea–Congo Forests (A05) biome have been recorded at this site (see Table 2). These include Anthreptes gabonicus, currently only known from this IBA in Senegal; however, it may be expected to occur on Parc National de Basse Casamance (site SN014), as its habitat does.

The central intertidal zone of river channels, islands, creeks, mangroves and exposed sand and mud is particularly important as a feeding area (especially at low tide) and roosting area for waders and herons. This is the most important site for wintering Casmerodius albus in West Africa, probably the most important site in Senegal for Ardea goliath and the only known breeding site in Senegal for A. cinerea. In addition to its importance for the species listed in the Box, there are significant numbers, close to IBA thresholds, of many other waders, including Haematopus ostralegus, Himantopus himantopus, Burhinus senegalensis and Numenius phaeopus. The zone furthest inland becomes very dry during the dry season, the saltmarshes and salines are of particular importance for Phoenicopterus ruber (including occasional breeding records) and 100 nests of Larus genei were recorded in the ‘Salines de Kaolack’ in 1998. The largest concentrations of wintering Pandion haliaetus recorded in Senegal occur in the site. The Delta du Saloum is very closely linked to sites SN011 and SN012 to the north. There is considerable interchange and movement of birds between these three sites, all of which are of very high importance for wintering, passage and resident waterbirds and seabirds.

Site description The site consists of the deltas of the seasonal Sine, Saloum and Diombos rivers. It lies south-west of Kaolack, and forms the border with The Gambia at the Atlantic coast, where it is contiguous with Niumi National Park (IBA GM003). The whole delta area covers a linear distance of 72.5 km along the Atlantic coast and stretches 35 km inland. Much of the delta area consists of mangroves (principally Rhizophora spp. and Avicennia nitida), which extend 70 km upstream to Kaolack. The Biosphere Reserve (and IBA) covers an area of 180,000 ha, of which 95,000 ha is marine, rivers or inundated areas (30,000 ha of which is intertidal), and 85,000 ha is terrestrial savanna or forest (either mainland or islands in the river channels). Part of the site (76,000 ha) is designated as a National Park and Ramsar Site (the Parc National du Delta du Saloum). This consists of 61,000 ha of sea and rivers, 7,000 ha of intertidal mangroves and saltwater vegetation and 8,000 ha of terrestrial savanna or forest (including the dry sand-dune forest of ‘Fathala’).

The site consists of sea and sandy coast (including the ‘Pointe de Sangomar’), sand, mud and shell islands and islets, tidal swamps, mangroves, sandbars, lagoons, streams and creeks or ‘bolongs’, savanna and forest. North of the main Saloum river channel, the islets tend to be sandy and subject to infrequent tidal flooding. These areas are either almost devoid of vegetation or colonized by a herb layer, e.g. Sesuvium portulacastrum, Paspalum vaginatum. At the edges, where flooding is seasonal not tidal, flood-plain grasses develop. There are also large areas of saline sand and fossil mangroves (‘tanns’) which support little vegetation, and some mangrove-covered islets. South of the river channel, mangroves growing on mud islets (almost entirely covered at high tide) dominate the area. There is a network of inter-linking channels and additional, seasonal freshwater streams flow in to the delta from the landward side. Towards the eastern end of the site, on areas that are never inundated by salt water, there are baobabs Adansonia digitata and Acacia trees. Some areas of saltmarsh and lagoon are exploited for the production of salt, for example the ‘Salines de Kaolack’, south-west of the town.

The core area (the National Park) and part of the buffer zone of the Biosphere Reserve are owned by the State, but the remainder is owned by the local community and managed through liaison between a rural council and National Park and forest service authorities. Human uses within the park include nature conservation, tourism, and gathering of grasses and other plant products. Activities in areas around the site include livestock-rearing, agriculture (mainly growing of millet), fishing and hunting.

Populations of IBA trigger species

Species	Season	Period	Population estimate	Quality of estimate	IBA Criteria	IUCN Category
Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus	breeding	1979	200 breeding pairs	medium		Least Concern
Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus	winter	1998	1,300 individuals	-	A4i	Least Concern
Eurasian Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia	winter	1997	217 individuals	-	A4i	Least Concern
Great Egret Casmerodius albus	winter	1997	852 individuals	-	A4i	Least Concern
Western Reef-egret Egretta gularis	breeding	1998	1,750 breeding pairs	-	A4i	Least Concern
Western Reef-egret Egretta gularis	winter	1997	1,729 individuals	-	A4i	Least Concern
Pink-backed Pelican Pelecanus rufescens	resident	1986	20 breeding pairs	-		Least Concern
Pink-backed Pelican Pelecanus rufescens	winter	1997	2,254 individuals	-	A4i	Least Concern
Fox Kestrel Falco alopex	resident	1998	present [units unknown]	-	A3	Least Concern
Red-thighed Sparrowhawk Accipiter erythropus	resident	1998	-	-		Least Concern
Pied Avocet Recurvirostra avosetta	winter	1998	2,328 individuals	-	A4i	Least Concern
Grey Plover Pluvialis squatarola	winter	1997	4,358 individuals	-	A4i	Least Concern
Common Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula	winter	1998	5,610 individuals	-	A4i	Least Concern
Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrinus	winter	1997	2,343 individuals	-	A4i	Least Concern
Common Redshank Tringa totanus	winter	1997	1,952 individuals	-	A4i	Least Concern
Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres	winter	1998	1,995 individuals	-	A4i	Least Concern
Little Stint Calidris minuta	winter	1997	14,180 individuals	-	A4i	Least Concern
Curlew Sandpiper Calidris ferruginea	winter	1998	16,256 individuals	-	A4i	Least Concern
Audouin's Gull Larus audouinii	winter	1997	522 individuals	-	A1	Near Threatened
Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus	winter	1998	7,813 individuals	-	A4i	Least Concern
Grey-headed Gull Larus cirrocephalus	breeding	1998	4,600 breeding pairs	-	A4i	Least Concern
Grey-headed Gull Larus cirrocephalus	winter	1997	1,833 individuals	-	A4i	Least Concern
Slender-billed Gull Larus genei	breeding	1998	3,350 breeding pairs	-	A4i	Least Concern
Slender-billed Gull Larus genei	winter	1997	9,086 individuals	-	A4i	Least Concern
Gull-billed Tern Sterna nilotica	breeding	1997	309 breeding pairs	-	A4i	Least Concern
Gull-billed Tern Sterna nilotica	winter	1997	612 individuals	-	A4i	Least Concern
Caspian Tern Sterna caspia	breeding	1998	8,610 breeding pairs	-	A4i	Least Concern
Caspian Tern Sterna caspia	winter	1997	1,773 individuals	-	A4i	Least Concern
Royal Tern Sterna maxima	breeding	1999	40,000 breeding pairs	-	A4i	Least Concern
Royal Tern Sterna maxima	winter	1998	988 individuals	-	A4i	Least Concern
Sandwich Tern Sterna sandvicensis	winter	1997	4,050 individuals	-	A4i	Least Concern
Common Tern Sterna hirundo	breeding	1998	80 breeding pairs	-	A4i	Least Concern
Senegal Parrot Poicephalus senegalus	resident	1998	present [units unknown]	-	A3	Least Concern
Violet Turaco Musophaga violacea	resident	1998	present [units unknown]	-	A3	Least Concern
Blue-bellied Roller Coracias cyanogaster	resident	1998	present [units unknown]	-	A3	Least Concern
African Pied Hornbill Tockus fasciatus	resident	1998	-	-		Least Concern
Piping Hornbill Bycanistes fistulator	resident	1998	-	-		Least Concern
Bearded Barbet Lybius dubius	resident	1998	present [units unknown]	-	A3	Least Concern
Yellow-billed Shrike Corvinella corvina	resident	1998	present [units unknown]	-	A3	Least Concern
Piapiac Ptilostomus afer	resident	1998	present [units unknown]	-	A3	Least Concern
Pied-winged Swallow Hirundo leucosoma	resident	1998	present [units unknown]	-	A3	Least Concern
Grey-headed Bristlebill Bleda canicapillus	resident	1998	-	-		Least Concern
Senegal Eremomela Eremomela pusilla	resident	1998	present [units unknown]	-	A3	Least Concern
Blackcap Babbler Turdoides reinwardii	resident	1998	present [units unknown]	-	A3	Least Concern
Purple Glossy-starling Lamprotornis purpureus	resident	1998	present [units unknown]	-	A3	Least Concern
White-crowned Robin-chat Cossypha albicapilla	resident	1998	present [units unknown]	-	A3	Least Concern
White-fronted Black-chat Myrmecocichla albifrons	resident	1998	present [units unknown]	-	A3	Least Concern
Mouse-brown Sunbird Anthreptes gabonicus	resident	1998	-	-		Least Concern
Chestnut-crowned Sparrow-weaver Plocepasser superciliosus	resident	1998	present [units unknown]	-	A3	Least Concern
Bush Petronia Petronia dentata	resident	1998	present [units unknown]	-	A3	Least Concern
Red-winged Pytilia Pytilia phoenicoptera	resident	1998	present [units unknown]	-	A3	Least Concern
Lavender Waxbill Estrilda caerulescens	resident	1998	present [units unknown]	-	A3	Least Concern
Black-rumped Waxbill Estrilda troglodytes	resident	1998	present [units unknown]	-	A3	Least Concern
A4iii Species group - waterbirds	winter	1997-1998	-	unknown	A4iii
A4iii Species group - waterbirds	breeding	1997-1999	-	unknown	A4iii

Protected areas

Protected area	Designation	Area (ha)	Relationship with IBA	Overlap with IBA (ha)
Delta du Saloum	National Park	59,934	protected area contained by site	76,000
Delta du Saloum	UNESCO-MAB Biosphere Reserve	180,000	is identical to site	180,000
Delta du Saloum	Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar)	73,000	protected area contained by site	73,000

Habitats

IUCN habitat	Habitat detail	Extent (% of site)
Artificial landscapes (terrestrial)		48%
Wetlands (inland)		17%
Shrubland		3%
Grassland		1%
Forest		28%

Land use

Land-use	Extent (% of site)
agriculture	-
fisheries/aquaculture	-
forestry	-
nature conservation and research	-
tourism/recreation	-
other	-
Notes: Gathering of natural products; small-scale salt production.

Other biodiversity The marine fauna includes breeding turtles: Dermochelys coriacea (EN), Chelonia mydas (EN), Caretta caretta (EN), Eretmochelys imbricata (CR) and Lepidochelys olivacea (EN). The site is also an important fish spawning and feeding ground (113 species recorded). Coastal and marine mammal species include Trichechus senegalensis (VU), Sousa teuszii (DD) and Stenella spp. The dry forest (Fathala and other islands) contains threatened mammal species typical of the Sudan–Sahel interface, including Piliocolobus badius temmincki (LR/nt), Cephalophus rufilatus (LR/cd) and Redunca redunca (LR/cd).

Management considerations There are proposals for the National Park to become part of an international park, in collaboration with The Gambia, which would include the mangroves south of the Senegal-Gambia border, at Karenti Bolon. There is a faunal reserve at Palmarin, designated under the auspices of the Biosphere Reserve. A rural council (composed of local community representatives) manages the Biosphere Reserve, in collaboration with National Park and Forest Service authorities. This allows traditional exploitation of mangroves, fish and shellfish, outside the park (which constitutes the core zone of the Biosphere Reserve).

There are potential threats to the whole delta from the extension of rice cultivation, general intensification of agriculture and salinization of soils, forest exploitation, destruction of mangroves, fires in the forest zone and overfishing. Other management problems include the illegal collection of molluscs, bird and sea-turtle eggs and possible over-exploitation of plant products. The saltflats upstream of the park and parts of the Fathala forest are currently unprotected, though proposals exist for their inclusion within the park. Since its inception in 1976 the park has received no external funding and management is hampered by a complete lack of resources and confusion between forestry and National Park services over management responsibilities. The rest of the IBA (the complete Biosphere Reserve) has never been formally designated and efforts to raise awareness and achieve integrated management of the delta area with local communities are only just beginning. The IUCN Wetlands Programme (with funding from The Netherlands government) is now supporting the National Parks Department to establish experimental pilot projects involving community groups under the ‘Integrated Management Programme for the Delta du Saloum Biosphere Reserve’. This five-year programme (1997–2002) will result in an integrated management plan for the Biosphere Reserve, for submission to donors. Accommodation for tourists and other visitors is available in local villages and there are plans to establish a biological station at the site and to promote use of the site for conservation education.

References Bengtsson (1995), Jones (1993), Keijl et al. (1999), Peeters et al. (1998), Schepers et al. (1998).

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Recommended citation  BirdLife International (2013) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Delta du Saloum. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 26/05/2013

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