The Air and Ténéré Natural Reserves comprises a large protected area that includes the Saharan desert of Ténéré and the volcanic massif of the Aïr Mountains, a Sahelian ‘island’ within the desert.
The landscape with its blue marble mountains and sand dunes is of outstanding beauty. Due to its isolation, numerous Saharo-Sahelion wildlife species that are rare elsewhere have managed to survive in the Aïr. One-sixth of the reserve is a sanctuary for Addax, a critically endangered species of antelope.
Community Perspective: This site is rarely visited due to the safety situation and remote location.
Possible: "We first came to the country of Air, a land rich in pasture. People buy sheep from the Berbers there and cut their meat into strips, which they dry. "
The "live dunes" of the Ténéré are an example of erosion under way the landscape is rapidly modified on a geological time scale by the displacement and deposition of sand (AB ev)
"The "live dunes" of the Téneré are an example of erosion under way the landscape is rapidly modified on a geological time scale by the displacement and deposition of sand" (IUCN eval). There is no Nom File but the actual word is applied on the Site's UNESCO page with a photo of "A dune sea (Erg) between Fachi and Bilma."
The most noticeable problem is poaching of gazelles and ostriches within
the reserve by military personnel (AB ev) / Poaching continues to strongly affect the site due to insufficient or lack of control linked to the large area of the property. Illegal hunting has decimated African ostrich populations in Africa
North, addax and dama gazelle during the last years but it now threatens other
mammals. Dorcas gazelles, Barbary sheep and Nubian and Arabian bustards are the species currently affected by poaching. (IUCN)
La zone du socle précambrien de l'Aïr est composée de dépôts de roches sédimentaires plissées et métamorphisées (gneiss, schistes) et de roches volcaniques datant du Protérozoïque inférieur. (wiki fr)
DD :“Il n'y a pas eu de tourisme dans la zone en raison des problčmes d'insécurité jusqu'en 2013. Par la suite, il y a eu quelques petites excursions organisées par des opérateurs locaux, mais pas de maničre officielle”
"The Aïr Mountains or Aïr Massif (Tamashek: Ayăr; Hausa: Eastern Azbin, Western Abzin) is a triangular massif, located in northern Niger, within the Sahara. Part of the West Saharan montane xeric woodlands ecoregion, they rise to more than 1,800 m (5,900 ft) and extend over 84,000 km2 (32,000 sq mi)" (Wiki)
