Reservas del Aïr y del Ténéré

The Aïr and Ténéré Natural Reserves were inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1991 and cover some 7,736,000 hectares in the heart of the Saharan zone of Niger, in the Agadez region. They constitute the largest protected area in Africa.

The property brings together two contrasting environments: the volcanic massif of the Aïr, a Sahelian enclave climatically isolated in the middle of the desert, with a flora and fauna of its own, and the sand expanse of the Ténéré, one of the most arid deserts on the planet. That juxtaposition produces a variety of landscapes, plants and animals exceptional for a hyper-arid region.

Its central sector, of 1,280,500 hectares, is classed as a strict reserve and constitutes the Addax Sanctuary, intended to protect this critically endangered Saharan antelope. The sheer size of the area is not arbitrary: desert species live at such low densities that only an expanse on this scale allows for their survival and their seasonal movements. The property was placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger in 1992, barely a year after its inscription, following military conflict and civil unrest in the region: six members of the reserve's staff had been held hostage since February of that year, and it was the government of Niger itself that requested the listing in order to draw international attention.