So far so close

Along the water in Casamance, in the heart of the Kalissaye reserve.

Episode 2

Audio 48:30

Bakary, fisherman and ecoguard in the reserve, lives alone with his family on the islet of Kanès.

© Raphaëlle Constant/RFI

By: Céline Develay Mazurelle Follow |

Raphaëlle Constant Follow

2 mins

In the far south of Senegal, in Casamance, between Guinea-Bissau and Gambia, there is a protected reserve like no other: a maze of sandbanks, lagoons, mangroves and forest islands, a real refuge for birds, dolphins or sea turtles but also travelers passing through.

Discover a fascinating island world along the water, in the company of conservation officers and inhabitants, true guardians of a rich but fragile nature.

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Created in 1978, the Ornithological Reserve of Kalissaye extends over more than 30,000 hectares between the islands of Bliss and Karones, in the heart of the delta of the Casamance river.

Crossed by backwaters, mudflats and bolongs, the places can be explored by canoe and slowly, so as not to disturb the thousands of seabirds or endangered marine species that come to find places to lay eggs and reproduce there. 

For decades, Casamance has been a region best known for hosting one of the oldest secessionist conflicts on the continent;

and yet, far from travelers' radars and safe red zones, this reserve, open to the public, acts as a space of tranquility and one-of-a-kind nature.

In fact, despite its classification as a reserve protected by the State, the ROK remains inhabited and the local island populations are closely associated with the conservation of the site, in shared and concerted management between national park agents and villagers, some of whom are designated as eco-guards.

And it is precisely this shared governance that makes it its strength. 

On site, despite meager resources, a clear lack of drinking water and electricity, the inhabitants of the reserve are implementing nature-based solutions to stay on these isolated lands.

Accompanied by 

, they then reinvent each day a way of life concerned about this environment which surrounds them, seeking to preserve the mangrove or the halieutic resources, in a balance already fragile and threatened every day a little more by climate change or ongoing overfishing. 

Sometimes you have to get away from the big centers to get to the heart of things, and that's what a trip to Kalissaye teaches, this end of the world which, in its own way, is the center. 

A report in 2 episodes by Raphaëlle Constant. 

To extend the trip.

Useful links :

- The

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- The Facebook page of

.

The territory of Kalissaye is made up of mangroves, bolongs and backwaters.

© Raphaëlle Constant/RFI

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• Senegal

• Travel

• Biodiversity

• Environment

On the same subject

So far so close

Along the water in Casamance, in the heart of the Kalissaye reserve.

Episode 1

So far so close

Over the water on the Senegal River

So far so close

Cayar, the resistance of the canoes