Conservation

Burkina Faso Swarm of Locusts

Photo: Yvan Perré (IRD)

Burkina Faso has 78 protected areas covering some 14% of the total area of the country. A legislative framework defines classified forests, total or partial wildlife reserves, national parks, game ranches, biosphere reserves and Ramsar sites. Although most conservation areas have remained with little management or investment until recently, progress is being made.

Burkina Faso has signed several international conventions regarding nature conservation, the most important being CITES, Bonn (migratory species), UNESCO World Heritage, Bern, Ramsar Humid Zones, Biodiversity Conservation, African Convention on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (Organisation of African Unity), and Convention on Climatic Change. International co-operation programmes are carried out on natural resource management and biodiversity conservation.

The African Bird Club made a conservation award to the Conservator of La Mare d’Oursi in 2001 for a study of water birds of Sahel Burkinabé in Oudalan Province. The project aims were to find which species were present and their relative numbers, and the award also helped purchase equipment, such as binoculars, for the surveys. The project, our first in Burkina Faso, is an exciting one and will hopefully stimulate projects in this important region.