Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
Um Badr Lake lies in sparsely vegetated country on the southern fringes of the Sahara desert, between the towns of El Obeid and El Fasher. The lake lies in a basin of rocky hills and high dunes of reddish sands. The lake basin is sparsely vegetated with
Acacia arabica,
A. albida,
A. seyal,
A. tortilis and
Balanites aegyptica, while
A. mellifera,
Leptadenia pyrotechnica and grasses
Aristida spp. predominate in the surrounding hills and dunes. Following rains, when it is c.6 km long by 2 km wide, the lake overflows from the northern end of the basin into Wadi El Milk. During drier periods the lake shrinks and becomes divided in two. Average annual rainfall is c.200 mm. The IBA includes the lake and the basin of rocky hills in which it sits.
See Box and Table 2 for key species. The site lies on the border between the Sahara–Sindian (A02) and the Sahel (A03) biomes. In addition, one species characteristic of the Sudan–Guinea Savanna biome (A04) has been recorded (see Table 2). It is also important as a staging-post for migrant waterbirds and passerines.
Non-bird biodiversity: None known to BirdLife International.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Large herds of domestic camels as well as sheep, goats and cattle water at the lake; overgrazing may, therefore, pose a threat.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Um Badr lake (Sudan). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/um-badr-lake-iba-sudan on 23/12/2024.
