The Inter Villager Association (AIV) of Ndiaël and Colonel Abdoulaye Ndiaye are the AEWA 2015 award winners, respectively in institutional and the individual category for their involvement in the conservation of waterbirds. The awards ceremony will take place on the occasion of the Meeting of Parties (MOP) scheduled from 9th to 14th November 2015 in Bonn, Germany.
Wetlands International Africa has all reasons to feel proud of its efforts in the conservation of waterbirds. The Inter Villager Association (AIV) of Ndiaël which has worked with Wetlands International for years on rewetting the Avifauna Special Reserve of Ndiaël (RSAN) and Colonel Abdoulaye Ndiaye, a retired former agent of the organization, have won the 2015 AEWA Award for the conservation of waterbirds.
AIV Ndiaël was valued by the award in the institutional category for its contribution to the conservation of migratory birds and their habitats, while CL Ndiaye was been honoured in the individual category for his proven expertise on wetlands management, conservation of birds and monitoring of water birds, poverty reduction and adaptation to climate change throughout Africa and the world.
The Inter Villager Association (AIV) of NDIAEL was created in 2004 and includes 32 outlying villages of the Ndiaël Avifauna Special Reserve. It counts 800 affiliates and is based in Ross-Béthio in the region of Saint Louis (Northern Sénégal).
Its aim is to enable local communities in the area, estimated at 9,000 inhabitants, to work on biodiversity rehabilitation activities for the wildlife of the reserve.
Ndiaël is a Ramsar site and is in the central hub of the Transboundary Biosphere Reserve of the Senegal River delta. It has been classified as a critical site at the Montreux.
Wetlands International, IUCN Netherlands and Both Ends with co-funding from Living on The Edge (LoTE) through the Ecosystem Alliance Program, have helped the AIV Ndiael to set up a simple management plan (2015-2020) which is a roadmap for the next five years.
Construction works for water supply of the big pond, scrubbing secondary ponds, firewall construction, building a nest mound to host migratory birds, support to environmental monitoring and site monitoring among other are achievements of the association.
‘’This award recognizes the sustained efforts of the community to manage its harmonious environment. We must encourage these efforts because people’s livelihood depends entirely on the ecosystem that we’re endeavouring to conserve. I hope this will motivate others to join Wetlands International and the AIV in their mobilization for the conservation of the Ndiaël reserve” said Mr. Ibrahima Thiam, Regional Director of Wetlands International Africa.
Amadou Sow, president of AIV Ndiaël is happy and surprised. ” We worked for our well-being but we didn’t think somebody somewhere will give us a trophy for that. We thank God and pay tribute to Wetlands International, which deems is trustworthy over thes years by working with us for the regeneration of the Avifauna Special Reserve of Ndiaël. This award is for the entire AIV which efforts have been rewarded. It comforts us in our mission, ” he said.