Conservation and Sustainable Use of Globally Significant Biodiversity in the Tassili and Ahaggar National Parks

The project aims to protect a representative sample of the biodiversity of the Central Saharan region. This will be achieved through the conservation and sustainable use of globally significant biodiversity in the Tassili N'Ajjer and the Ahaggar National Parks. Given the vastness of the two protected areas and the specificity of desert ecosystems, a mixed strategy will be adopted. In sites of key biodiversity resources, more intensive management will be supported through the clustering of activities while, over the rest of the area, a more extensive form of management will be supported through simplified streams of activity – intervention being limited in some cases to supporting PAMU presence. Priority will also be given to ecological corridors in order to ensure at least stepping-stone connectivity between areas of key resources. This adaptive management strategy, emphasizing flexibility and movement, is tailored to the ecological imperatives of desert ecosystems, as reflected by the survival strategies and movement patterns adopted by both animals and humans in such extreme environments.