Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
Mozagué reservoir is situated near the village of Mozagué or Mozagé, 20 km east of Birni N’Konni, in an old riverbed. The reservoir is filled by surface run-off during the rainy season and is used as a source of water for irrigation during the dry season. In the surrounding area there are outcrops of calcareous rocks. The maximum area of the reservoir is 1,300 ha, but its extent is heavily dependent on recent rainfall; the reservoir is shallow (5–7 m) with gently sloping sides, such that levels fall quickly after the rains and water only lasts for about eight months. Average annual rainfall in the Birni N’Konni area for the period 1961–1990 was approximately 450 mm, with large yearly variations. At the times of the surveys in January–February, the water area of the reservoir measured only 10–50 ha. The water of the reservoir is brackish and alkaline, with low levels of nitrogen, but very high levels of phosphorus in the clay-rich sediment. The reservoir supports no aquatic vegetation and is entirely surrounded by farmland.
See Box for key species. Waterbirds have been counted at Mozagué in January 1993–1998 during which time 32 species were recorded. Other significant counts, in addition to those listed below, include 2,350
Calidris minuta in January 1990, and five species of tern totalling 915 individuals in January 1993.
Non-bird biodiversity: None known to BirdLife International.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The reservoir is owned by government, but may be used by the local population under supervision. The reservoir is heavily fished for
Clarias anguillaris and
Oreochromis niloticus using cast and set nets. Watering of livestock (cattle and sheep) is also important. There is a considerable amount of dry-season cultivation of, e.g.
Dolichos lablab and cassava, utilizing residual water in soil recently exposed (‘culture de décrue’). Threats are poorly known, but may include disturbance by the local population, both directly and through increasing use of the reservoir and its surroundings. The DDE wishes to plant
Echinochloa stagnina along the reservoir edges as fodder for livestock and to introduce the fish
Bagrus bayad.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Mozagué reservoir (Niger). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/mozagué-reservoir-iba-niger on 23/11/2024.
