Mauritania
Banc d'Arguin National Park
The Banc d'Arguin National Park (French: Parc National du Banc d'Arguin) lies on the west coast of Mauritania between Nouakchott and Nouadhibou. The World Heritage Site is a major breeding site for migratory birds. A wide range of species include flamingos, broad-billed sandpipers, pelicans and terns. Much of the breeding is on sand banks including the islands of Tidra, Niroumi, Nair , Kiji and Arguim . The surrounding waters are some of the richest fishing waters in western Africa and serve as nesting grounds for the entire western region.
The Banc d'Arguin National Park is a Nature reserve that was established to protect both the natural resources and the valuable fisheries, which makes a significant contribution to the national economy (Hoffmann, 1988), as well as scientifically and aesthetically valuable geological sites, in the interests of and for the recreation of the general public. The park's vast expanses of mudflats provide a home for over two million migrant shorebirds from northern Europe, Siberia and Greenland. The region's mild climate and absence of human disturbance makes the park one of the most important sites in the world for these species. The nesting bird population is also noted for its great numbers and diversity. Between 25,000 and 40,000 pairs belonging to 15 species, making the largest colonies of water birds in West Africa (IUCN Technical Evaluation, 1989).
Although the park was constituted as a way to protect its environment;Overfishing by international fleets in the waters just off Banc d'Arguin, outside the park, is depleting fish resources and may cause a decline of the breeding colonies of fish-eating bird species (Mepham and Mepham, in press). In 2006 Mauritania sold to the EU fishing rights in exchange for external debt reduction, prompting arguments of overfishing, sustainabiltity, Neocolonialism, and the rights of local people
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