General characteristics

Located at latitude 13 ° 58’6 N and longitude 16 ° 36’0 W, the MPA of Gandoul is located in the Rural Community of Djirnda. More precisely in the Niodor district which is part of the foundiougne department, in the Region of Fatick. It consists of 14 islands, with ten of them occupied by dwellings. It covers an approximate area of 15,732 ha including 35% of firm land.

Objective of the creation

Contribute to the conservation of marine and coastal biodiversity, in a way to help the local communities of Gandoul to embrace social and economic development.

Representative habitats and ecosystems

The MPA of Gandoulis composed of fourteen (14) islands, ten (10) of them are occupied by houses. They posess a very rich biotope: breeding islands for birds, “Fambine” pass, pit of “Diourpé”, “Thiourakh” and“Sandésane”. These pits are nursery areas.

Main species
The MPA contains an important network of freshwater, brackish to saline (ponds, bolongs, etc.), a set of special ecosystems (mangroves, savannahs, tannes, mudflats, Isles of Blood, etc.).

Cultural values and economic activities

In the heart of the Saloum Islands, the MPA of Gandoul holds several sacred sites (Gandiane, Mbalbatou, Ngangthior, I’thiourakh, Mbolmboli, Ndimsiro, etc.) and places of worship allaccross the Commune.

Some of them (stopover of Cheikhou Oumar Foutiyou TALL1 Maya for example) are places of veneration and welcome annually pilgrims who came from different horizons. Fishing, malacological picking, processing of fish products, agriculture, breeding, salt exploitation, exploitation of NTFPs, tourism, trade, transport, are the main activities of the populations who live there.