SUSTAINABLE WETLAND MANAGEMENT IN THE FACE OF CLIMATE RISKS IN NIGER: THE CASE OF LA MARE DE TABALAK

This report, commissioned by the UNDP, assesses climate risks for wetlands in Niger, specifically focusing on La Mare de Tabalak in the Tahoua region. It examines the vulnerability of the pond and its local inhabitants to recurring droughts and floods, the impact of environmental degradation, and the existing institutional frameworks for climate risk management. The document provides recommendations for sustainable wetland management, emphasizing intercommunal cooperation, improved monitoring, and the integration of gender issues into climate policies.

• Niger's agricultural capacity is severely limited, with only 12 percent of the land area suitable for farming, and the country currently utilizes only 1 percent of its water resources, primarily from groundwater.
• La Mare de Tabalak is a natural freshwater pond in the Tahoua region that became permanent in the 1950s. It is one of Niger's 12 Ramsar sites and supports critical agrosilvopastoral activities for a watershed population that was just under 42,000 in 2001.
• The local population of La Mare de Tabalak is highly vulnerable to recurring droughts, which lead to reduced water levels, falling production in agrosilvopastoral activities, and recurring famines. While floods can damage infrastructure, they are often viewed positively as they provide abundant water for fishing and production.
• Environmental degradation is exacerbating climate hazards at La Mare de Tabalak, specifically through continued silting of the pond, the spread of invasive plant species, and population growth. The pond's volume is estimated to be shrinking by approximately 1 percent per year due to sediment transport.
• Hydrological modelling using the SWAT tool predicts that the water level of La Mare de Tabalak will likely vary less in the future because the climate change scenarios used are less variable than historical records, though further analysis is needed to validate this.
• Gender inequality significantly impacts vulnerability in Niger's wetlands; women often earn only one-twentieth of the income of men and have more limited access to resources, making them more susceptible to the harmful effects of climate risks.
• Niger's climate risk management is split between the National Environment Council for Sustainable Development (CNEDD), which handles climate change adaptation, and the Early Warning System (EWS), which manages disaster risk reduction. There is a noted lack of 'horizontal' coordination between these two bodies.
• While the 'Accelerated Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy' (ADPRS) and 'Rural Development Strategy' (SDR) fully incorporate climate risks, other key documents like the Rural Code, Pastoral Code, and Water Code hardly or do not mention them at all.
• Priority actions for the sustainable management of La Mare de Tabalak include improving governance through joint resource management by the six communes in the watershed, establishing a continuous environmental and socio-economic monitoring system, and accelerating restoration activities.
• Niger faces a severe shortage of climate data, with only nine of its 59 weather stations possessing continuous data records sufficient for drawing conclusions about future precipitation and temperature levels.

APA

Dekens, J., Nazoumou, Y., Zamudio-Trigo, A. N., Adamou, M. M., Hambally, Y., & McCandless, M. (2013). SUSTAINABLE WETLAND MANAGEMENT IN THE FACE OF CLIMATE RISKS IN NIGER: THE CASE OF LA MARE DE TABALAK. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/crm_niger.pdf

Chicago

Dekens, Julie, Yahaya Nazoumou, Alicia Natalia Zamudio-Trigo, Mahaman Moustapha Adamou, Yacouba Hambally, and Matt McCandless. SUSTAINABLE WETLAND MANAGEMENT IN THE FACE OF CLIMATE RISKS IN NIGER: THE CASE OF LA MARE DE TABALAK. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2013. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/crm_niger.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{dekens2013sustainable, author = {Dekens, Julie and Nazoumou, Yahaya and Zamudio-Trigo, Alicia Natalia and Adamou, Mahaman Moustapha and Hambally, Yacouba and McCandless, Matt}, title = {{SUSTAINABLE WETLAND MANAGEMENT IN THE FACE OF CLIMATE RISKS IN NIGER: THE CASE OF LA MARE DE TABALAK}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2013}, month = jan, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/crm_niger.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }