Waders Waterbirds in Floodplains Logone, Cameroon-Chad, Jan-

Waders and Waterbirds in the Floodplains of the Logone, Cameroon and Chad, January-February 1999 / Bert Dijkstra, Wim Ganzevles, Gerrit Gerritsen, Selvino de Kort. Publication number 75. Utrecht, Stichting WIWO, 2002; 59 bladzijden. For many wader and waterbird species the inland West-African wetlands are of great importance as wintering sites. However the expanding human population caused a tremendously increased pressure on inland wetland resources in the past four decades. Together with a sequence of droughts in West-Africa this diminished, and still threatens, the capacity to support wildlife. Therefore further research should be carried out to extend knowledge and quantify the value of specific inland wetlands, in view of possible protection of the most vulnerable areas in the nearby future. The three main wetland areas in Sahelian Africa covered by this project are formed by the floodplains of the Senegal, the Niger and Lake Chad and its feeding rivers. WIWO intends to carry out long-term projects in West-Africa in order to assist in building capacity of local birdwatchers to maintain field work activities by training in bird counts and bird ringing. The ornithological studies in the Lake Chad Basin Area (Cameroon and Chad) fits in well with WIWO's research priorities in West-Africa. The project is carried out within the framework of, and funded in 1999 by, the Wetlands International Project 'Building the capacity in West Africa of a regional network for wetland and waterbird management 1997/98-2001'. The two aims of the project were: A: Censuses of the Logone floodplain (Cameroon and Chad); B: Ringing of selected species in the Waza-Logone floodplain (Cameroon). The report contains: Description of the study area and methods / Results of waterbird counts and of ringing/dying / Comparison of the results with countings in previous years / Conclusions and recommendations for further research / Summaries in Dutch and French.