Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
Lake Fitri is located in the centre of the country, about 300 km east of N’Djamena. The normal maximum extent of the lake is about 50,000 ha, although it can double or triple in size in wet years; the area of the designated Ramsar Site is 195,000 ha. In addition, there are a number of permanent swamps around its normal margin of 150 km. The freshwater lake is normally shallow (several metres) and is fed by seasonal rainfall and run-off from a catchment area estimated at 70,000 km². The principal affluent is the seasonal Batha river which carries water from the Ouaddai massif to the east. The normally permanent lake may dry out during severe drought periods, such as occurred at the beginning of the twentieth century and again in 1984–1985 and (almost) in 1991. The lake supports vegetation characteristic of Sahelian wetlands which includes
Echinochloa stagnina,
Vossia cuspidata and
Nymphaea aquatica, while seasonally flooded areas support woodland consisting of
Acacia nilotica and
Mitragyna inermis with a ground-cover of annual grasses and sedges.
See Box for key species. Waterbird counts have been made at Lake Fitri annually since 1984 and irregularly before that. As well as being important for Palearctic migrants, the lake also provides a drought refuge for Afrotropical species. A total of 3,800
Aythya nyroca were counted in 1999. It is thought that the population of
Balearica pavonina may exceed 2,500.
Non-bird biodiversity: Among mammals, the site is important for Loxodonta africana (EN) in the dry season, and Gazella rufifrons (VU) occurs, especially west of the lake.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Lahe Fitri was designated a Ramsar Site in 1990. Recent droughts have increased the dependence of both people and wildlife on Lake Fitri, thus increasing the potential for conflict over land and water resources between seasonal graziers and farmers engaged in permanent agriculture around the lake, as well as between people and wildlife. Up to 50,000 seasonal graziers and an estimated 160,000 cattle spend the dry season in the vicinity of the lake. The most significant potential threat to the site’s ecological character, however, comes from the cumulative impact of small dykes and dams diverting seasonal run-off and river flow away from the lake. The lake also supports a productive fishery with an annual catch in excess of 3,000 tonnes, which is relatively well-managed because local attitudes, led by those of the sultanate, are sympathetic to conservation, and include a prohibition, generally respected, on the use of fishing nets.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Lake Fitri (Chad). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/lake-fitri-iba-chad on 23/12/2024.
