Termit Massif Reserve

Réserve totale de faune du Termit Massif
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)
Location	Zinder Region, Diffa Region, Niger
Nearest city	Termit Kaoboul, Tasker
Coordinates	16°23′38″N 11°39′29″E / 16.39389°N 11.65806°E / 16.39389; 11.65806Coordinates: 16°23′38″N 11°39′29″E / 16.39389°N 11.65806°E / 16.39389; 11.65806
Area	70,000 hectares
Governing body	Parcs Nationaux & Reserves - Niger

The Termit Massif Total Reserve is a nature reserve in the southeast of Niger which was established in January 1962. In March 2012, a national nature and cultural reserve was established covering an area of 100,000 square kilometres (39,000 sq mi), including the entire area of the Termit Massif and Tin Toumma desert, making it the largest single protected area in Africa. The area provides habitat for many critically endangered species. Prominent among them is the addax antelope, which is categorized under the IUCN Red List as one of the rarest and most endangered species in the world; about 300 of them are reported in the reserve. A conservation effort has been launched by the Government of Niger in collaboration with many international conservation agencies. The reserve has also been declared an UNESCO World Heritage Site for the biodiversity value of the Termit Massif and surrounding Sahara Desert and for the cultural value of its archaeological sites.

The reserve has 30 species of mammals, several species of reptiles and more than 150 species of birds; among the bird species recorded is the threatened lappet-faced vulture which breeds in small pockets in several areas of the reserve.

The earliest reported exploration of the Termit Massif reserve area was by Saharan explorers Dixon Denham and Hugh Clapperton, Heinrich Barth, Gustav Nachtigal, Vischer and Buchanan who recorded the enormous amount of game found in the reserve. In recent years the decline in the wildlife of the region has also been noted, and some of the species have been photographed by renowned wildlife photographer Alain Dragesco-Joffé. This led to initiation of action to preserve the wildlife in the area through suitable legislation passed by the Government of Niger on 1 January 1952, covering an area of 70,000 hectares (270 sq mi). This has been further enlarged recently to cover an area of 100,000 hectares (390 sq mi).

Awareness of the unique wildlife of the reserve has been facilitated by the Sahara Conservation Fund since 2001. The proposal to declare this reserve as UNESCO World Heritage Site was submitted on 26 May 2006 under Criteria of Natural vii, on account of its biodiversity values and its cultural importance.