Tunisia
The Republic of Tunisia is a North African, Mediterranean country of 163,610 km². It is the northernmost country in Africa and is bordered by Algeria to the west and Libya to the east. The Sahara makes up around 40% of the country, with much of the remainder consisting of fertile soils and a 1300 km coastline. Both played a prominent role in ancient times, first with the famous Phoenician city of Carthage, and later, as the Africa Province, which became known as the bread basket of the Roman Empire. Not so well documented is the fact that it was also the primary source of “wild beasts” for the circuses of the Roman Empire. Tunisia is a country visited by over 4 million tourists a year, a growing portion of which is looking for a “desert experience”.
Over half of the country is made up of aridlands receiving less than 200mm rainfall a year, the majority of this falling during the winter months. Most of Tunisia’s 10 million citizens live in the more urbanised northern part of the country. The rest of the land is used mostly for agriculture and livestock raising.
As early as 1985, Tunisia became a champion of Sahelo-Saharan conservation and restoration, with Bou Hedma National Park serving as a highlight for the entire region. The park welcomed the first scimitar-horned oryx, addax and dama gazelles reintroduced from captive stock held in Europe and the United States. Driven by the success of this project and in collaboration with the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), Tunisia’s Direction Générale des Forêts (DGF) organised the first Sahelo-Saharan Antelopes range states meeting in 1998 (see Djerba Declaration, CMS et IRSNB web sites).
In recent years, Tunisia has developed an important network of protected areas, including a good number of sites within the Sahara. Tunisia has also adopted a national strategy for the restoration of large antelopes and this is an integral part of its implementation of the CMS Action Plan for Sahelo-Saharan Antelopes. SCF is committed to helping Tunisia carry out this 20 years strategy. Top priorities include conservation of the last viable populations of slender-horned gazelle in Djebil and Senghar National Parks in the Grand Erg Oriental and the reintroduction of addax to the same area.
As part of the Tunisian strategy, addax and oryx were translocated between Bou Hedma NP and other desert protected areas in February, 2007. Fifteen addax (5 males and 10 females) were moved to Djebil NP, with a further 5 (2 males and 3 females) to Senghar NP. Eight scimitar-horned oryx (3 males and 5 females) were moved to Dghoumes NP. To read the Press Release associated with this important conservation achievement, click here. The above photos, taken during the operation, are by Olivier Born.
To further reinforce the captive populations of addax and oryx in Tunisia, SCF is involved in a new reintroduction project that is due to be carried out in late-2007. To find out more about this project, click on the image below.
