Lake Nokoué (6041)
Benin, Africa

Site overview

KBA status: confirmed

Year of last assessment: 2015

National site name: Lake Nokoué

Central coordinates: Latitude: 6.6325, Longitude: 2.4495

System: freshwater, marine, terrestrial

Elevation (m): 0 to 10

Area of KBA (km²): 984.02906

Protected area coverage (%): 0.00

KBA classification: Regional

Legacy site: Yes

Site details

Site description: Lake Nokoué is an extensive lagoon of c.16,000 ha extent, 20 km wide by 11 km long (north to south), immediately north of Cotonou. Its northern shore is formed by the deltas of the So and Ouémé rivers. It is connected to the sea not only via a channel through Cotonou, but also by another to the Lagune de Porto-Novo to the east and thence to the coast in Nigeria. On the western edge is the remarkable aquatic town of Ganvié, built on stilts made of bamboo or tree-trunks sunk into the water. The southern edge of the lake has the highest salinity, and is fringed with Typha australis as well as the ubiquitous grass Paspalum vaginatum. The proposed IBA includes not only the lake itself but also the seasonally inundated forest (Berlinia grandiflora and Dalium guineense), swamp-forest (Mitragyna inermis and Raphia hookeri), marshes and flood-plains of rivers north of it, up the Ouémé river as far as the village of Sagon, 10 km south-east of Zangnanado.

Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that was identified using previously established criteria and thresholds for the identification of Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) and for which available data indicate that it does not meet global KBA criteria and thresholds set out in the Global Standard. KBA identified in the CEPF Ecosystem Profile of the Guinea Forests of West Africa Hotspot (2015). Taxonomy, nomenclature and threat status follow the 2013 IUCN Red List.

Additional biodiversity: See Box and Table 2 for key species. Large populations of waterbirds use the lake and surrounding areas. These include, in addition to those listed below, Egretta ardesiaca, E. garzetta, Tringa glareola, T. stagnatilis, T. nebularia, T. erythropus and Chlidonias hybridus. There is also a record of Gallinago media. It is expected that more species of the Guinea–Congo Forests biome will be found to occur. In addition, five species of the Sudan–Guinea Savanna biome (A04) have been recorded; see Table 2. Non-bird biodiversity: Small numbers of Tragelaphus spekii (LR/nt) are thought to persist but hunting pressure is intense. There are also records of Cercopithecus erythrogaster (VU) and Trichechus senegalensis (VU).

Habitats

Land use: fisheries/aquaculture | forestry | nature conservation and research

IUCN Habitat	Coverage %	Habitat detail
Shrubland	21
Unknown	10
Wetlands(Inland)	14
Forest	47
Artificial - Terrestrial	5

Threats

Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: Much of the area was declared a Ramsar Site, known as Basse Vallée de l’Ouémé, Lagune de Porto-Novo, Lac Nokoué and covering 91,600 ha, in January 2000. Threats include hunting, poaching, pollution, mangrove destruction and deforestation. Traditional fishing methods may, however, benefit birds. Fishermen plant branches in the muddy lagoon bottom, surrounded by platforms of bamboo sticks and palm-leaves. When the leaves on the branches start to decompose, fish congregate to feed at these sites, known as acadja, before boatmen (and birds) return to catch them.

Threat level 1	Threat level 2	Threat level 3	Timing
Biological resource use	Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	Intentional use (species being assessed is the target)	Ongoing
Pollution	Domestic & urban waste water	Type Unknown/Unrecorded	Ongoing
Biological resource use	Logging & wood harvesting	Unintentional effects: subsistence/small scale (species being assessed is not the target) [harvest]	Ongoing

Additional information