Conservation strategy and action plan for Cuvier’s gazelle (Gazella cuvieri) in North Africa 2017-2026.

IUCN Gland, Switzerland and Malaga, Spain: x + 42 pp. ISBN: 978-2-8317-1905-4.

Summary:

Cuvier’s gazelle (Gazella cuvieri) is a species endemic to North Africa, with its distribution being limited to Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. The species is listed on CITES Appendix I and CMS Appendix I, within the framework of which the CMS Sahelo-Saharan Antelopes Action Plan was developed. Since it was created, this strategy has aimed to follow the abovementioned regional Action Plan and to become a tool for its implementation in order to protect this gazelle.

Cuvier’s gazelle is currently globally threatened and is classified as Vulnerable in IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species, mainly due to its small population size. The major threats facing this species are poaching and habitat degradation. Faced with this situation and in order to counter this trend, a strategy and an action plan for this species’ conservation in North Africa were developed with the extensive collaboration of stakeholders, in particular: the national authorities in charge of wildlife conservation in three countries (in Morocco, the High Commission for Water, Forests and the Fight against Desertification; in Algeria, the Directorate-General of Forests of Algeria; and in Tunisia, the Directorate-General of Forests and the Ministry of Local Affairs and the Environment), the IUCN Antelope Specialist Group, national experts and NGO members. Thus, around 30 experts, managers and technicians in the field of conservation contributed to this work.

With this in mind, the aim of this strategy is to ensure that by 2050 there are viable, connected populations of Cuvier’s gazelle, occupying natural habitats in an area close to its historic range. In order to achieve this goal, drawn up by the main stakeholders in the three North African countries involved, seven intervention strategies were identified: (i) the protection and recovery of populations, (ii) the protection and management of the habitat, (iii) awareness raising and valorisation, (iv) research and monitoring, (v) international cooperation, (vi) capacity building and (vii) captive breeding and management. Each State then adapted these strategies and defined a purpose for its territory, supported by short-, medium- and long-term activities.

The success of this strategy is closely linked to the work by several stakeholders at different levels where each one must act in collaboration with various institutions in order to accomplish these goals effectively.

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