View source for Niayes

'''Niayes''' is a geographical area in northwestern [[Senegal]] which forms a coastal strip, with [[sand dune]]s adjoining the sea being backed by a string of fresh water lakes. The land is used for [[horticulture]] and the grazing of cattle, and provides suitable habitat for waterfowl and other birds. The [[Niayes Arrondissement]] is subdivided into four administrative regions.
The area is important both economically and for conservation, but is threatened by [[desertification]].
==Geography==
Niayes occupies a narrow strip of land along the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] coast of [[Senegal]], varying in length from {{convert|100|to|280|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} and in width from {{convert|25|to|30|km|mi|0|abbr=on}}. It extends from the peninsula of [[Cap-Vert]] to the [[Mauritania|Mauritanian]] border and from the coast roughly to the road leading from [[Dakar]] to [[Saint-Louis, Senegal|Saint-Louis]]. The [[Niayes Arrondissement]] is divided into four administrative subdivisions: the [[Dakar Region]], the [[Thiès Region]], the [[Louga Region]] and the [[Saint-Louis Region]].<ref name=Atlas>{{cite book |title=Atlas of the World |last=Philip's |year=1994 |publisher=Reed International |isbn=0-540-05831-9 |page=100 }}</ref>
The area has a ridge of coastal sand dunes, behind which is a series of permanent, fresh water lakes, lying a few metres above sea level and running parallel to the coast. The largest is [[Lake Retba]], some {{convert|5|km|mi|1|abbr=on}} long. The lakes receive water from precipitation and from the underlying water table, and their surface area increases dramatically in the wet season.<ref name=BirdLife>{{cite web |url=http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/niayes-(from-dakar-to-st-louis)-iba-senegal |title=Niayes (from Dakar to St Louis) |publisher=BirdLife International |access-date=8 May 2019}}</ref> Since the middle of the twentieth century, Niayes has been experiencing a significant reduction in precipitation, with rainfall averages in the 1990s being about half what they were in the 1950s, putting the area at risk of [[desertification]].<ref>{{cite journal |year=1995 |title=La sécheresse et la baisse du paludisme dans les Niayes du Sénégal] |journal=Cahiers d'études et de recherches francophones |volume=5 |issue=5 |pages=299–305 |url=http://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/pleins_textes_6/b_fdi_43-44/010004241.pdf }}</ref>
==Land use==
Niayes is very important to the economy of Senegal, being used for fishing, cattle-grazing and market gardening, with large quantities of vegetables, fruit and rice being grown, made possible by the high water table and the moisture-laden winds blowing in from the ocean.<ref name=BirdLife/> Belts of salt-tolerant ''[[Casuarina equisetifolia]]'' have been planted to prevent wind erosion of the soil.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iucngisd.org/gisd/species.php?sc=365 |title=Species profile: ''Casuarina equisetifolia'' |work=Global Invasive Species Database |publisher=IUCN |access-date=8 May 2019}}</ref>
==Biodiversity==
The dominant tree species are the [[Elaeis guineensis|African oil-palm]], along with the [[Prosopis africana|African mesquite]] and [[Ficus sur|Cape fig]].
The wetlands of Niayes are recognised by [[BirdLife International]] as an [[Important Bird Area]], an area identified as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations.<ref name=BirdLife/> It is visited by a large variety of raptors and by breeding and wintering waterbirds; these include the [[lesser flamingo]], [[American flamingo]], [[lesser kestrel]], [[black kite]], [[sandwich tern]], [[little tern]], [[reed cormorant]], [[little egret]] and [[northern shoveler]].<ref name=BirdLife/>
==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Regions of Senegal]]
[[Category:Geography of Senegal]]
[[Category:Important Bird Areas of Senegal]]