Nature in Mauritania

Mauritania contains several connected landscapes: desert dunes and salt flats, Sahel savanna and woodland, Atlantic coastal dunes and shallow marine waters, seagrass beds, islands and upwelling zones, and the estuary, floodplains and mangroves of the lower Senegal River. The Senegal River delta follows seasonal water management through sluices. Its wetter period generally runs from July to March, while conditions are drier from April to July. Four Ramsar sites are listed in Mauritania. Ramsar sites are wetlands recognized under the Ramsar Convention, but their listing does not replace national management or access rules. The sites are Chat Tboul, covering 15,500 hectares; Lac Gabou and the Plateau du Tagant hydrological network, covering 9,500 hectares; the Parc National du Banc d'Arguin, covering 1,200,000 hectares; and the Parc National du Diawling, covering 15,600 hectares. The Parc National du Banc d'Arguin, known as PNBA, covers about 1,200,000 hectares, including roughly 180 kilometres of coastline, islands, terrestrial areas and marine ecosystems. Created in 1976, it is also a UNESCO World Heritage site and a Ramsar site. Its objectives include habitat and species protection, research, environmental education and sustainable development for resident communities. The Imraguen population in about nine coastal villages has specific traditional fishing access inside the park. Fishing is carried out on foot or with sailing boats called lanches; motorised boats are prohibited, and the lanche fleet is capped at 114 boats. Fishing for rays and sharks stopped under an agreement. These rights exist together with park restrictions and enforcement. The Parc National du Diawling, known as PND, lies in Trarza, in the Moughataa of Keur Macène and the commune of N'Diago. It includes a central area of more than 16,000 hectares and a peripheral zone of more than 56,000 hectares. The park manages seasonal water flows, ecological restoration, conservation and traditional livelihoods. It forms part of the Transboundary Biosphere Reserve of the Lower Senegal River Delta, established in 2005. Fishing, livestock keeping, handicrafts, market gardening and non-timber products are managed through co-management, surveillance, monitoring and environmental education. The active fishing season is reported as November to March. A local ecosystem-services permit is reserved for the N'Diago population; an application, national identity card copy and photograph are required, with processing reported at seven days and no fee. Other protected facilities have different functions. The Trarza Natural Wildlife Reserve was created in 2025 to reintroduce rare or threatened wildlife and regenerate species, ecosystems and habitats. Public access, fees, zoning and management procedures were not established in the consulted official material. Parc National d'Awleigat is a 400-hectare ex-situ conservation and education facility under the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development. It supports conservation, scientific study, captive breeding, reintroduction, public awareness and ecotourism, but current visitor tariffs and access rules were not found. The protected areas support substantial biodiversity. PNBA hosts more than two million wintering migratory birds, sea turtles, dolphins, more than 200 plant species and seagrass habitats that provide nursery functions. PND reports more than 369 bird species, 65 fish species, 39 mammals, 17 lizards, 15 snakes, five amphibians, three turtles and one crocodile. It also reports 18 bird species with threatened or protected status and more than 561 hectares of mangrove, including Rhizophora racemosa and Avicennia germinans. Local products include Sporobolus robustus mats, Acacia nilotica used for tanning and Nymphaea lotus as food. Traditional resource use also occurs outside protected areas. The available research identifies transhumance along customary routes, traditional cultivation, deadwood collection and non-commercial gathering of wild fruits, food and medicinal plants. These practices do not remove restrictions that apply inside parks or under wildlife law. Cat 1 species are fully protected except for a scientific sampling exception. Cat 2 species are partially protected and subject to controlled hunting. Species lists can be revised by ministerial order. CITES-protected wildlife and trophies are subject to strict prohibitions on import, export, commercialisation and transit. Visitors need separate permissions and payments depending on the site and activity. PNBA is open year-round. Access costs 200 MRU per person per night, and every vehicle or boat needs PNBA authorisation after payment. Photography and audio recording require prior authorisation. A guide is strongly recommended for a first visit, and a 4x4 vehicle with GPS is recommended. Hunting, firearms, landing on islands, driving outside authorised tracks, disturbing wildlife, collecting plants or historical objects and abandoning waste are prohibited. Line fishing is subject to special regulation. PND offers several routes. A tourist request and entry-right payment are processed by PND in about 48 hours for a published fee of 200 MRU. The ecotourism route is available to individuals who present a national identity card, residence card or passport; processing is reported at three days and the fee is 200 MRU per person. A guided park visit costs 400 MRU and a pirogue excursion costs 4,000 MRU. Handicraft or cooperative visits and nights in a khaïma are arranged on request. Visitors must use authorised routes and camping places, avoid driving on the dyke during rain, carry waste out, save water, avoid hunting and removing plants, animals, minerals, rocks or objects, and obtain consent before photographing villages. PND also receives requests from researchers, trainees and experts. A national identity card copy is required, processing is reported at seven days and no fee is listed. Students and pupils can request database or geographic information system consultation, reported at eight days without a fee, or an educational excursion, reported at 48 hours without a fee when accompanied by an undertaking to cover financial responsibility. PNBA's legal framework also supports research and environmental education. Scientific hunting requires a permit when research involves capturing or killing animals. The applicant must show a scientific purpose; a foreign organisation also needs research authorisation from the competent research authority. The permit is free, valid for the study period up to a maximum of 12 months, and requires details of species, number, zone and duration, identification, two photographs, institutional research authorisation and a Mauritanian criminal record issued less than three months earlier. Daily capture or kill records are required, with the log submitted within seven days after expiry and the research report within 30 days. Commercial export is not allowed. Sport hunting requires a regular, personal and non-transferable permit and is limited to Cat 2 species. The statutory sport fee is 10,000 MRU, in addition to a stamped request costing 50 MRU. The dossier includes the request, a valid hunting-firearm permit, and for non-resident foreigners a temporary firearm admission authorisation, two photographs, identification or passport and a criminal record issued less than three months earlier. A ministerial campaign order sets the hunting period, zones, species and quotas. Hunters must keep a daily record of the number, sex, age and location of kills and submit it within seven days after the permit expires. Late or missing records prevent a new permit. The current administrative portal refers to DiPREM, while the Ministry's organisational naming differs; the receiving office should be verified before filing. Current 2025/2026 campaign details were not confirmed in the available material. Wildlife rules prohibit hunting young or newborn animals, juveniles below half the adult size, females with young, nesting birds and reptiles, and hunting from sunset to sunrise. Shooting from motor vehicles, ships, boats or aircraft, as well as poison, nets, enclosures, traps, pits, drives, snares and bush fires, is prohibited. The Minister may authorise special methods against animals dangerous to people or property. Unauthorised hunting can lead to a fine of 100,000 to 500,000 MRU, imprisonment from six months to two years, confiscation and withdrawal of a permit. Hunting products cannot be traded commercially. Activities that may harm fauna or flora or destroy habitat require prior authorisation from the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, known as MEDD, or are prohibited. The Directorate of Environmental Assessment and Control, known as DECE, handles environmental impact studies, simplified environmental impact notices, strategic assessments and environmental authorisations. A simplified notice uses terms of reference and is reported at 15 days without a fee. A full environmental impact study uses terms of reference and is reported at 60 days, with no fee stated. Projects subject to a full study require a public inquiry, and the decision is due no later than three months after that inquiry. A project promoter may use a consultant, but Ministry review remains mandatory. The main responsible structures are MEDD and its directorates for coastal protection, wetlands and protected areas, species protection and soil restoration, and environmental assessment. PNBA and PND are public administrative establishments under MEDD. Local governance involves the Wilaya, Moughataa, commune, village committees and local communities. No direct national Nature benefit or subsidy equivalent is identified in the available research. Published fees and processing times can change, so applicants should verify current tariffs, receiving offices, access restrictions and campaign orders directly with PNBA, PND or MEDD.