Niger is home to a number of national parks and protected areas, including two UNESCO-MAB Biosphere Reserves. The protected areas of Niger normally have a designation and status determined by the Government of Niger. Further, fourteen sites also have international designations, applied by UNESCO and the Ramsar Convention on wetlands protection. Protected lands in Niger are managed by a number of authorities, and the areas of authority and structure have changed a number of times since independence. Some of the first reserves, parks, and protected areas were designated under French Colonial rule and much of the legal regime is based on these colonial laws. Niger is also party to a number of international agreements and participates in international ecological, conservation, and resource management programs with its neighbors, region, and worldwide.
Type and number of protected areas
Protected lands in Niger fall under both national and international regulation, and are managed by elements of the Nigerien government, as well as regional bodies and international designation oversight bodies. Initial classification of lands as legally protected for conservation of flora, fauna, landscape, and resource protection was done under French Colonial rule beginning in 1936. Much of the legal framework of land management and protection is based on these original regulations. As of the late 1990s, most land management was the area of the Nigerien Natural Resource Management Unit of the Inter-ministerial Sub-committee for Rural Development, which includes ministries focused on environmental issues, industrial resource extraction, economic growth, and farming. Nigerien designated protected areas were administered by the Direction of Fauna, Fisheries and Aquaculture of the Ministry of Hydrology and the Environment. Actual protection is the responsibility of the DFPP's Fauna and Apiculture Management Service which in 1987 had only 40 staff actually managing or guarding sites. Note: most sites have at least two overlapping designations.
National designations
Various Nigerien government designations, administered by the "Direction de l'Environnement" office of the Ministry of Hydrology and Environment
4 Total Faunal Reserves, the equivalent of the World Commission on Protected Areas/IUCN Category IV - Habitat/Species Management Area
1 Partial Faunal Reserve, the equivalent of the World Commission on Protected Areas/IUCN Category IV
Additionally, several sites have international designations as protected areas. As signatories of the below conventions, the Government of Niger places restrictions on use of these lands.
12 Wetlands of International Importance. As a Convention signatory, Niger has agreed to establish wetlands protective areas, which may restrict use and promote "the wise use of wetlands in their territory".
A number of Nigerien sites are recognised by conservation programmes as conservation areas of special importance, even where there is no formal government convention. Notable among these are 15 BirdLife International designated Important Bird Areas. Many of these are additional designations given to existing Nigerien government, IUCN, or Ramsar designated sites.
List of sites
Parks and reserves
Air and Ténéré Natural Reserves: This includes several overlapping designations.
