Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
Binder–Léré Faunal Reserve is situated in south-west Chad, on the border with Cameroon. The area is essentially rocky with eroded soils. The reserve lies in the transition zone between open forest and savanna woodland and is dominated by leguminous tree species in the south and by
Combretum woodland in the north. The savanna is characterized by shrubs of the genera
Anogeissus and
Boswellia. The Mayo-Kébbi river flows from east to west through the reserve. Included in the reserve are both the Gauthiot Falls and, towards its western end, Lakes Léré and Tréné, through which the Mayo-Kébbi flows, before continuing westwards into Cameroon and Nigeria to join the Niger river system. Lake Léré is 14.5 km long by 4 km wide while Tréné is 6 km long and 2 km wide. Near the headwaters of the Mayo-Kébbi, just outside the reserve, there is a vast plain containing the Touboiris and Loké marshes. Mean annual rainfall is between 800–950 mm.
See Box and Table 2 for key species. In addition,
Falco naumanni has been recorded (status is unknown), as have two species restricted to the Sahel biome (see Table 2). Although no counts have been made, it is believed that Lakes Léré and Tréné are important for migrant Palearctic waterbirds.
Non-bird biodiversity: Threatened mammal species include Trichechus senegalensis (VU).
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The reserve was established in 1974. There are many villages and much associated cultivation (millet, ground-nuts and cotton), both surrounding the reserve and within its western part. Illegal hunting, particularly by raiders from Cameroon, is severe. In the 1980s the population of
Trichechus senegalensis was estimated to be about 100, was subsequently reduced by poaching, but is said to have increased recently. With the start of a natural-resources management project, financed by GTZ, in south-west Chad, interest in the area has risen again. The project is attempting to stimulate faunal protection and has recently set up a wildlife monitoring system using village guards.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Binder - Léré (Chad). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/binder--léré-iba-chad on 23/11/2024.
