Far Wamo

Far Wamo is listed among Somalia's wildlife reserves, separately from a Lack Dare reserve.^[1] The Key Biodiversity Area record for Far Waamo (also called Dhesheeg Waamo) places a site of this name south-east of Laag Dheere, between the Jubba River and the Laag Dheere valley, near Jilib and Afmadow, at about 0.40 N, 42.27 E in the Jubba basin.^[2] The record describes a forest-savanna mosaic around a semi-perennial, shallow freshwater wetland of about 10,000 ha at its maximum extent, within a Key Biodiversity Area of about 2,691 km2.^[2]

In December 1984, counts of only part of the wetland recorded about 25,000 waterbirds, including pelicans, herons, egrets, flamingos, ducks and waders. The Key Biodiversity Area record also lists African elephant (Endangered), black rhinoceros (Critically Endangered) and giraffe among the mammals recorded for the site.^[2]

The Key Biodiversity Area record describes bushland, some areas of cultivation and Typha beds along the wetland shoreline, within a forest-savanna mosaic.^[2]

The Far Waamo Key Biodiversity Area lies at an elevation of 0 to 100 m.^[2]

The Key Biodiversity Area record states that the Far Waamo area is widely used by pastoralists and farmers practising flood-recession agriculture, and classes its land use as agriculture.^[2]

The Key Biodiversity Area record states that Far Waamo has been proposed as a Wildlife Reserve and reports 0% protected-area coverage.^[2] Eleven wildlife areas have been declared in Somalia since the 1970s, but only two were thought to be functional, and no formal protection has been offered to any of them since the early 1990s.^[3]

Pressure on the Far Waamo wetland comes from its heavy use by pastoralists and farmers.^[2] Nature Somalia states that no protected areas remained functional after 1991.^[4]