Nature in Senegal

Senegal's natural landscapes include alluvial plains, deltas, lakes, dunes, shallow groundwater areas, Sahelian pastoral zones, dry and gallery forests, wetlands, mangroves, marine coasts and savannas. The main ecological areas are the Vallée du fleuve Sénégal, Niayes, Ferlo or zone sylvopastorale, Bassin arachidier, Sénégal oriental and Casamance. The Niayes combine coastal dunes, depressions and a shallow water table. Casamance contains estuaries, called bolongs, forests and mangroves. The Bassin arachidier contains important farming landscapes but also faces soil degradation and salinization. Protected nature is managed through several systems. The Direction des Parcs nationaux, known as DPN, manages six national parks and five reserves. Marine protection includes 17 marine protected areas, commonly called AMP, covering about 739,290 hectares. Other categories include nature reserves, special wildlife reserves, classified forests and sacred groves. National figures report that protected areas cover more than 8% of Senegal's territory. The Ramsar network includes nine wetlands covering about 159,137 hectares. The Parc national des Oiseaux du Djoudj, covering about 16,000 hectares, and the Parc national du Niokolo-Koba, covering about 913,000 hectares, have UNESCO natural heritage recognition. The Delta du Fleuve Sénégal and Niokolo-Koba also form part of the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere programme. Senegal has recorded more than 2,000 species, including more than 560 bird species, of which about 248 are migratory. Niokolo-Koba provides habitat for Derby eland, chimpanzees, lions, leopards, elephants, buffalo and many birds, reptiles and amphibians. Djoudj receives more than 3,000,000 birds between November and May and records more than 350 bird species. Sensitive species include the African manatee, marine turtles, waterbirds and terns. More than 200 species receive protection under the DPN system. Under Senegal's 1986 hunting rules and Decree 86-844, fully protected species may not be hunted or captured, and their young and eggs may not be taken, except under a scientific permit. International trade in protected species is also regulated through CITES. Nature supports rain-fed and irrigated farming, livestock keeping and transhumance, artisanal fishing, oyster and shellfish harvesting, mangrove and forest products, beekeeping and ecotourism. Community co-management is used in several marine and coastal areas. Local committees may combine conservation with mangrove restoration, oyster farming, beekeeping, market gardening and savings or credit activities. The national mangrove strategy uses knowledge, conservation and restoration, and governance as its main lines of action. Reforestation, temporary protection of restoration sites and assisted natural regeneration are used to restore mangroves. The legal status of an area determines which uses are allowed. Activities in protected areas follow the area's statute and management plan. Hunting outside protected areas requires a permit. A hunter generally needs to be at least 21 years old unless an exception applies, belong to a hunting association, pay a 10,000 FCFA tax stamp and hold a weapon permit with the annual weapon tax paid. The application also requires the permit fee, insurance and two photographs. Tourist hunters need a licensed hunting guide and proof of two years of previous practice. Resident permit fees are 15,000 FCFA for small game, 45,000 FCFA for big game and 30,000 FCFA for waterfowl. Tourist fees vary by duration: small-game permits cost 15,000 FCFA for one week, 25,000 FCFA for 15 days and 45,000 FCFA for one month; big-game permits cost 50,000 FCFA for one week or 15 days and 90,000 FCFA for one month; waterfowl permits cost 15,000 FCFA for one week and 45,000 FCFA for one month. A customary permit costs 3,000 FCFA where that system applies. DPN ecotourism access costs 3,000 FCFA per day for Senegalese visitors and 5,000 FCFA for foreign visitors. Annual access costs 50,000 FCFA for Senegalese visitors and 150,000 FCFA for foreign visitors. Scientific annual access costs 130,000 FCFA or 195,000 FCFA respectively. A vehicle, aircraft or boat costs 10,000 FCFA, photography costs 100,000 FCFA or 250,000 FCFA, and filming costs 325,000 FCFA or 975,000 FCFA according to the applicable visitor category. Children under 10 enter free. Sites generally open daily from 08:00 to 18:00. Visitors must follow eco-guards, avoid introducing or feeding animals, touching eggs or nests, disturbing wildlife, using lures or excessive noise and leaving waste. The Ministry of Environment and Ecological Transition, DPN, the Direction des Aires Marines Communautaires Protégées, the Direction des Eaux, Forêts, Chasse et Conservation des Sols, the Direction de l'Environnement et des Établissements Classés, territorial authorities, the Centre de Suivi Écologique, ISRA and CRODT have different responsibilities. Scientific work in a national park requires a DPN scientific annual permit costing 130,000 FCFA for Senegalese applicants and 195,000 FCFA for foreign applicants. Projects that may affect the environment generally require an environmental impact assessment before the relevant authorization or permit. Category 1 projects require a full environmental and social impact assessment; category 2 projects require an initial environmental analysis. Public information, consultation and a public hearing form part of the participation process, and public participation is a condition for the assessment to remain valid. A certificate of conformity is valid for five years and can be renewed. The project promoter pays assessment and monitoring costs. Environmental education is a right under the 2023 Environmental Code. DPN activities include guided walks, naturalist guides, birdwatching, pirogue trips, photo safaris and educational materials. DAMCP has also used online training for people aged 18 to 35 connected with marine protected areas or nearby communities; its 2025–2026 cycle contains seven modules, selects 100 participants and requires at least 70% completion or performance under the stated conditions. Nature in Senegal faces drought and changing rainfall, bush fires, coastal erosion, sea-level rise, storm surges, floods, salinity and saltwater intrusion. Mangroves face degradation, while overfishing and excessive harvesting pressure aquatic and forest resources. Djoudj is affected by invasive aquatic plants such as Pistia stratiotes, Limnobium laevigatum or Lavinia molesta and Typha australis, as well as occasional avian disease events. Conflicts can arise between poaching and wildlife protection, livestock movement and park conservation, agricultural expansion or chemical use and wetland protection, dam regulation and Djoudj's water regime, mining or gold extraction and Niokolo-Koba, and coastal construction or sand extraction and dunes or mangroves. Conservation responses include DPN surveillance, ecological monitoring, species recovery, community management in marine protected areas, habitat restoration, alternative livelihoods and access to environmental information and remedies under the Environmental Code.