Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
Gâat Sawana (more than 800 ha) and Tâmourt Oum Lellé (more than 400 ha) are located 67 km south-east of the regional capital, Ayoûn. Gâat Sawana is a clay depression on an open plain where seasonal rains accumulate. It is an important area for traditional flood-recession agriculture. When flooded, it presents a large open expanse of water with abundant aquatic vegetation. Rainwater is fed in from two wadis and water reaches a depth of up to 1 m. Water is retained in the depression for five to eight months. The sandy zone around the depression supports grasses such as
Cenchrus biflorus,
Panicum and
Aristida spp.
and trees and bushes including
Leptadenia pyrotechnica,
Balanites aegyptiaca and
Acacia raddiana. The vegetation of the floodable zone inlcudes
Helioptropium sp.,
Indigofera sp.,
Eragrostis tremula,
Sesbania leptocarpa and
Cyperus esculentus, while the aquatic zone on clay soils supports
Cyperus sp.,
Nymphaea sp.,
Sporobolus helvolus,
Oryza barthii and
Ipomoea aquatica with
Acacia nilotica and
Ziziphus mauritiana.
Oum Lellé lies 11 km north of Sawana in another clay-lined depression. The tâmourt is deeper than the gâat, holds water for longer and is characterized by a woodland of
Acacia nilotica in the centre of the depression and by the absence of aquatic vegetation. The surrounding area is a zone of rich pastoral land dominated by grasses such as
Cenchrus biflorus,
Panicum and
Aristida spp. while trees and shrubs include
Acacia raddiana,
A. ehrenbergiana,
Balanites aegyptiaca and
Leptadenia pyrotechnica.
See Box for key species. In January 2000, 85
Aythya nyroca and 17,000
Anas querquedula were recorded at this site.
Non-bird biodiversity: The tortoise Geochelone sulcata (VU) occurs.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The twin sites have been proposed as a Ramsar Site. Sawana is the second most productive agricultural zone in Hodh El Gharbi. The agriculture practised is flood-recession cultivation of, predominantly, sorghum. Oum Lellé is a daily watering hole for at least 12,000 animals and is one of the most important sources of surface water in the region. A traditional agreement divides activities between the two wetlands; Oum Lellé is reserved for animal herding and Sawana for agriculture. Due to this traditional management the wetlands are currently in good ‘health’, but appropriate management plans would help reduce threats posed by the expansion of agriculture and the subsequent clearing of land and habitat loss.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Sawana - Oum Lellé (Mauritania). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/sawana--oum-lellé-iba-mauritania on 23/11/2024.
