Flood forests of the inner Niger delta, mali; past, present, and future

Flood forests have a special place in the Inner Niger Delta, Mali. They have a great economic value for the local populations, and are hotspots of biodiversity in the delta. This report reviews the status of all flood forests in the Inner Niger Delta, Mali, that are presently known, or have been known to exist in the past. In total, the status of 39 sites has been evaluated. Of the remaining 37 sites, 8 have been totally lost and cleared, while 22 have been severely degraded, losing their function for colonial waterbirds. This leaves 7 forests in a more or less healthy state some of which host very large mixed colonies of waterbirds. Of the severely degraded forests, 8 are included in restoration projects by Wetlands International and IUCN. Of these 8, two still hold small numbers of breeding birds, which means that are forests which have breeding birds and can be considered future nuclei if they are further developed. Based on this, and on a judgement on the other forests, a strategic plan has been developed for the restoration of a functional network of flood forests in the delta.