Important Bird Areas

A number of species have been recorded only in the forested areas in the mountains of the southern part of the Atacora chain that cuts across the country from the south-west to the north-east or in the gallery forests along the country’s major river, the Mono, and its tributaries. Similarly, a number of species occur only in the arid north or in the Kéran National Park. The coastal sands, wetlands and lagoons near Lomé provide stop-over places for migrant waders and terns moving down the west of Africa.

The forests and surroundings at Misahöhe, and elsewhere north to the Fazao mountains, are important. The richest array of forest species in Togo occurs in the south-west along the border with Ghana.

Togo also supports Palearctic migrants during the dry season with good populations of Common House Martins Delichon urbicum wintering in upland areas and spectacular passages of Common Swifts Apus apus, Alpine Swifts Tachymarptis melba and Mottled Swifts T. aequatorialis may be encountered in the Atakpamé area and elsewhere.

Four Important Bird Areas (IBAs) have been identified in Togo covering 5,085 km2, equivalent to 9.4% of the land-surface area of the country. The list of IBAs is as follows: Oti Valley Faunal Reserve; Kéran National Park; Fazao-Malfakassa National Park; Misahöhe Forest Reserve.

Further information on Togo’s IBAs can be found at BirdLife International.