The Site is a complex of permanent and temporary streams, oases and marshes at the centre of Niger’s part of the Sahara Desert, which hosts a number of endangered species such as the vulnerable cheetah, Barbary sheep and Dorcas gazelle, as well as the critically endangered addax (Addax nasomaculatus). 290 species of flowering plants and 150 bird species have been counted at the Site, including permanent residents and Palearctic migrants. They include grey heron (Ardea cinerea), dark chanting goshawk (Melierax metabates), Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus), spotted eagle-owl (Bubo africanus) and white stork (Ciconia ciconia). The wetlands play an important role in flood control, while the vegetation acts as a sediment trap. The Site is archaeologically and culturally valuable due to the remains of old cities such as the abandoned Tuareg town of Assodé, Neolithic engravings showing animals such as giraffes, elephants which have become locally extinct, and objects such as arrows, pottery and shells which are a reminder of the camel caravans that used to pass through. Desertification, combined with anthropogenic pressures, is changing the area’s ecology and consequently its ability to support both animal and human populations.