Current view: Text account
Site description (2013 baseline):
Site location and context
This 13.300 ha site –over a half of the total area of the Rural Community- in Southeastern Senegal is situated on the very first northern slope of the Fouta Djallon highland. The area rises from the river Gambia plain (150-200 m high) to a plateau at 400-450 m. It is located at the edge of two different eco-regions: the Western Sudan savannah and the Guinean forested mosaic (eco-regions AT0707 and AT0722, respectively), according to the classification by Olson et al. (2001). Five types of vegetation predominate in the study area: a) woodland, shrub and herbaceous savannah; b) dense semideciduous forests in the foothills; c) gallery forests in ravines; d) rocky cliffs; and d) bowé, outcrops of laterite rock where trees and shrubs cannot grow and that are only covered by grass during the rainy season.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
• Threats to bird populations are mainly the extraction of timber for fuel or buildings by the local population and the wild fires to promote grazing; both pressures lead to deterioration and clearing of the semi-caducifolious and gallery forests, where many interesting birds thrive. Hunting is practiced, but apparently birds are not primarily targeted (other than partridges).
The RNCD was established with the aim of carrying out a community-based management of its natural resources, as well as protecting the last population of chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus) in Senegal, listed by the IUCN as an endangered species worldwide and with an estimate of only 500 individuals for all the country (Carter et al., 2003). The presence of this species in the region represents the northwestern limit of its geographical distribution and the reason why IUCN considers Dindéfélo as an important area in terms of conservation.
However, the conservation of chimpanzees at the Reserve faces the impacts of local people’s activities, including timber harvesting, fire regimes for the creation of open pastures for cattle, or pollution of watercourses, as in other natural areas of Africa. Natural resources in the region of Kédougou –considered one of the last bastions for wildlife in Senegal- suffer also a big impact due mostly to poaching and overexploitation beyond local people’s use. For instance, uncontrolled clearing to address the reduction of land productivity and the absence of fallows take part in the erosion and degradation of biodiversity, substantially destroying some biotopes.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Dindefello Natural Reserve (Senegal). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/dindefello-natural-reserve-iba-senegal on 23/11/2024.
