Obo Natural Park

Obo Natural Park
Obo Natural Park
Area	290 km²
Created	2006

Last updated April 28, 2019

Obo Natural Park or Ôbo Natural Park (Portuguese : Parque Natural Ôbo) is a natural park of São Tomé and Príncipe, covering some 235 km² (30% of the island) of São Tomé Island in its south and 65 km² of Príncipe Island.^[1] Despite its name, it has the category of national park of the IUCN.^[2] On the larger island, it covers the districts of Me-Zochi, most of Lemba and the much of Caué The name etymology is of Angolan origin.

Portuguese is a Western Romance language originating in the Iberian Peninsula. It is the sole official language of Portugal, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Angola, and São Tomé and Príncipe. It also has co-official language status in East Timor, Equatorial Guinea and Macau in China. As the result of expansion during colonial times, a cultural presence of Portuguese and Portuguese creole speakers are also found in Goa, Daman and Diu in India; in Batticaloa on the east coast of Sri Lanka; in the Indonesian island of Flores; in the Malacca state of Malaysia; and the ABC islands in the Caribbean where Papiamento is spoken, while Cape Verdean Creole is the most widely spoken Portuguese-based Creole. Reintegrationists maintain that Galician is not a separate language, but a dialect of Portuguese. A Portuguese-speaking person or nation is referred to as "Lusophone" (Lusófono).

São Tomé and Príncipe, officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, is an island country in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa. It consists of two archipelagos around the two main islands of São Tomé and Príncipe, about 140 kilometres apart and about 250 and 225 kilometres off the northwestern coast of Gabon, respectively.

São Tomé Island, at 854 km² (330 sq mi), is the largest island of São Tomé and Príncipe and is home to about 157,000 or 96% of the nation's population. The island is divided into six districts. It is located 2 km north of the equator.

Logo

Its park logo has a green seal with the park name Obô it and has a blue label on the bottom reading Natural Park, in Portuguese: Parque Natural.

Geography

The natural park was established in 2006 and is the country's only protected area at the national level. Now there is another protected area created in 2012 and is the Island of Príncipe Biosphere Reserve and is at the international level.

The Island of Príncipe Biosphere Reserve is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in São Tomé and Príncipe. It encompasses the entire emerged area of the island of Príncipe, its islets Bom Bom, Boné do Jóquei, Mosteiros, and Pedra da Galé, and the Tinhosas islands as well as surrounding marine habitats. The reserve is located in the Gulf of Guinea off the west coast of Africa, and is managed by the regional government of Príncipe.

Pico Cão Grande is located in the southern-central part of the park on the island of Sao Tomé and rises dramatically in a needle-like shape over 300 metres (980 ft) above the surrounding terrain and the summit is 663 metres (2,175 ft) above sea level.^[3]

The Pico Cão Grande is a landmark needle-shaped volcanic plug peak in São Tomé and Príncipe, in the Caué District of São Tomé Island in Parque Natural Obô de São Tomé. Its summit is 663 m (2,175 ft) above sea level, and it rises about 370 m (1,210 ft) over the surrounding terrain. The volcanic plug was formed by magma solidifying in the vent of an active volcano. The nearest village is Vila Clotilde, 3 km to the east. The district seat São João dos Angolares is 9 km to the east.

Several places inside the park includes Bombaim which is next to the nation's tallest summit, Bom Successo, the area north of Porto Alegre and São Miguel in the west.

Bombaim is a small village on São Tomé Island in São Tomé and Príncipe. Its population is 18. It is 6 km south of Monte Café and 8 km southwest of Trindade. It was established as a plantation (roça).

Porto Alegre is a village in Caué District on São Tomé Island in São Tomé and Príncipe. Its population is 795. Porto Alegre lies 2.5 km northeast of the southernmost point of São Tomé Island, Ponta Homem da Capa. It is 1.5 km west of Ponta Baleia, 17 km southwest of São João dos Angolares and 40 km southwest of the capital São Tomé. Across the Canal das Rolas lies the Ilhéu das Rolas. On the east side of Ponta Homem da Capa is the beach Praia Inhame. The plantation complex Roça de Porto Alegre was established around 1890 by Jacinto Carneiro de Sousa e Almeida. The oldest preserved building dates from 1918.

The park is known internationally amongst conservationists for its biologically rich dense virgin rainforests. It is also characterized by a wide range of biotopes, from lowland and mountain forests, to mangroves and savanna area, which contribute to its unique ecosystem. The park includes virgin Atlantic high altitude rainforest and secondary rainforest (known to locals as capoeira) which contains abandoned plantations.^[1]

A biotope is an area of uniform environmental conditions providing a living place for a specific assemblage of plants and animals. Biotope is almost synonymous with the term habitat, which is more commonly used in English-speaking countries. However, in some countries these two terms are distinguished: the subject of a habitat is a population, the subject of a biotope is a biocoenosis or biological community.

A mangrove is a shrub or small tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves occur worldwide in the tropics and subtropics, mainly between latitudes 25° N and 25° S. The total mangrove forest area of the world in 2000 was 137,800 square kilometres (53,200 sq mi), spanning 118 countries and territories.

A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland grassland ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to support an unbroken herbaceous layer consisting primarily of grasses.

In 1988, scientists classified the forests of São Tomé and Príncipe as the second most important in terms of biological interest out of 75 forests of Africa; most of the species found in the islands are found in the national park.^[1] The WWF has listed the forests of the national park as among the Global 200, the 200 most important biological areas on the planet and the forest of Obo is listed as an Important Bird Area (IBA) of Africa.^[1]

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961, working in the field of the wilderness preservation, and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in Canada and the United States.

The Global 200 is the list of ecoregions identified by WWF, the global conservation organization, as priorities for conservation. According to WWF, an ecoregion is defined as a "relatively large unit of land or water containing a characteristic set of natural communities that share a large majority of their species dynamics, and environmental conditions". So, for example, based on their levels of endemism, Madagascar gets multiple listings, ancient Lake Baikal gets one, and the North American Great Lakes get none.

Important Bird Area area recognized as being globally important habitat for the conservation of birds populations

An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations.

The average annual rainfall is 2,493 millimetres (98.1 in). The park's altitude ranges between 0–1,973 metres (0–6,473 ft).^[4]

Flora and fauna

Flora includes the evergreen coniferous Afrocarpus mannii . Orchards, ferns and mosses are common in the area. Several mangrove plants includes Avicennia germinans, Green mangrove and the Golden leather fern (Acrostichum aureum). The rainforests contain 100 unique orchids,^[5] and over 700 species of flora.^[6]

The park's fauna includes the African manatee, as well as Newton's grassland frog, Sao Tomé giant treefrog, São Tomé Caecilian, Moller's gulf frog, and Peters' river frog.^[4] Birds include the São Toméan grosbeak (Crithagra concolor), São Toméan ibis (Bostrychia bocagei), São Toméan shorttail (Amaurocichlia bocagei), the Giant sunbird (Dreptes thomensis), São Tomé fiscal (Lanius newtoni), São Tomé oriole (Oriolus crassirostris) and São Tomé thrush (Turdus olivaceofuscus). Bats include the São Tomé leaf-nosed bat (Hipposideros thomensis). Turtles include the Leatherback sea turtle. There are also some species of snakes being the few islands distant from the West African shore to have snakes especially venomous types. Invertebrates including ome moths include Theretra viridis , Hyalobathra barnsalis and Pseudoclanis tomensis and an ant species Tetramorium renae .

On Príncipe island, they include a frog known as Phrynobatrachus dispar , birds such as Dohrn's thrush-babbler (Horizorhinus dohrni), the Príncipe kingfisher, Principe starling and the Príncipe thrush (Turdus xanthorhynchus), and the grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus), and a moth such as Agrotera albalis .

Related Research Articles

Príncipe island off of the coast of Africa

Príncipe is the smaller, northern major island of the country of São Tomé and Príncipe lying off the west coast of Africa in the Gulf of Guinea. It has an area of 136 square kilometres (53 sq mi) and a population of 7,324 (2012). The island is a heavily eroded volcano speculated to be over three million years old, surrounded by smaller islands including Ilheu Bom Bom, Ilhéu Caroço, Tinhosa Grande and Tinhosa Pequena. Part of the Cameroon Line archipelago, Príncipe rises in the south to 947 metres at Pico do Príncipe. The island is the main constituent of the Autonomous Region of Príncipe, established in 1995, and of the coterminous district of Pagué.

Caué is a district of São Tomé and Príncipe, on São Tomé Island. Covering 267 km² (103 sq mi), it is the largest of the nation's seven districts in terms of area. In population it is the smallest, with 6,031 residents (2012). The district seat is São João dos Angolares. It is divided into the two statistical subdistricts São João dos Angolares and Malanza.

Lembá is a district of São Tomé and Príncipe, on São Tomé Island. Its area is 229.5 km² (89 sq mi), and its population is 14,652 (2012). The district seat is Neves. It is divided into the two statistical subdistricts Neves and Santa Catarina.

Pico de São Tomé is the highest mountain in São Tomé and Príncipe at 2,024 m (6,640 ft) elevation. It lies just west of the centre of São Tomé Island, in the Parque Natural Obô de São Tomé and in the Lembá District. The second highest point, Pico de Ana Chaves, lies about 3 km to its south east. The town Santa Catarina is 8 km to the west.

The São Tomé shrew is a white-toothed shrew about 3.0 in (7.6 cm) long found only on São Tomé Island, São Tomé and Príncipe. It is listed as a critically endangered species due to habitat loss and a restricted range. It was discovered in 1886. The population continues to decrease, making these animals rare. It is found only on São Tomé Island, a small island that is actually a shield volcano that rises out of the Atlantic Ocean.

The São Tomé, Príncipe, and Annobón moist lowland forests is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion that covers the islands of São Tomé and Príncipe, which form the island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe, as well as the island of Annobón, which is part of Equatorial Guinea.

Hyperolius molleri is a species of frog in the family Hyperoliidae. It is endemic to São Tomé Island. Records from Príncipe now refer to Hyperolius drewesi, described as a distinct species in 2016.

Hyperolius thomensis is a species of frog in the family Hyperoliidae. It is endemic to the island of São Tomé in São Tomé and Príncipe. Common name Sao Tome giant treefrog has been coined for it. It is the largest Hyperolius species.

Ptychadena newtoni is a species of frog in the Ptychadenidae family. It is endemic to the island of São Tomé in São Tomé and Príncipe, where it occurs up to 600 metres elevation. Its natural habitats are swamps, freshwater marshes, arable land, plantations, rural gardens, urban areas, heavily degraded former forest, ponds, and canals and ditches. It is threatened by habitat loss. The animal was first described as Rana newtoni by Bocage in 1886. The species is named after Francisco Xavier Oakley de Aguiar Newton (1864–1909).

The São Tomé fiscal, or Newton's fiscal, is a species of bird in the family Laniidae. It is endemic to São Tomé Island, São Tomé and Príncipe. It is 20 to 21 centimeters long. The bird is black above with a white shoulder-scapular bar. The São Tomé fiscal has a pale yellow chin, breast, belly, flanks vent and under tail. Its graduated tail has all black central tail feathers and an increasing amount of white on outer web from inner to outer tail feathers. The Lanius newtoni has a clear voice with a whistle tiuh tiuh often repeated and metallic tsink tsink audible over a long distance.

The wildlife of São Tomé and Príncipe is composed of its flora and fauna. São Tomé and Príncipe are oceanic islands which have always been separate from mainland West Africa and so there is a relatively low diversity of species, restricted to those that have managed to cross the sea to the islands. However the level of endemism is high with many species occurring nowhere else in the world.

The São Tomé free-tailed bat is a species of bat in the family Molossidae. It is endemic to São Tomé and Príncipe. Its natural habitats are dry savanna, moist savanna, and plantations. It is threatened by habitat loss. Only three individuals have ever been documented.

Pico do Príncipe is a mountain on the island of Príncipe, the smaller of the two inhabited islands of São Tomé and Príncipe. The elevation of the mountain is 947 metres (3,107 ft), making it the highest peak on the island. The island is one of the volcanic swells that make up the Cameroon line of extinct and active volcanoes.

Rio Xufexufe is a river in the island of São Tomé, São Tomé and Príncipe. The river flows southward through the southern part of the Lembá District and empties into the Atlantic Ocean 10 km northwest of Vila Malanza. Its catchment area is 16.5 km² (6.4 sq mi). The endangered birds São Tomé olive pigeon and São Tomé fiscal have been observed in the catchment of the river.

Lagoa Azul is a small bay in the northern part of the island of São Tomé in São Tomé and Príncipe. It is part of the Parque Natural Obô de São Tomé. It is 4 km northwest of the town Guadalupe. It is a popular spot for diving. There is a lighthouse near the bay, built in 1997.

Tomensis is Latin for "of Thomas" or "of the island of São Tomé". It may refer to several species:

Thomensis is Latin for "of Thomas" or "of the island of São Tomé". It may refer to several species found on the island and in the surrounding waters:

Miniopterus newtoni is a species of bat that is endemic to São Tomé and Príncipe.

References

1 2 3 4 "Conservation history". Obo Park.com. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
↑ "Ôbo (São Tomé e Príncipe) - Area report" . Retrieved 16 June 2013.
↑ United States. Naval Oceanographic Office (1969). Sailing directions for the southwest coast of Africa, from Cape Palmas to Cape of Good Hope . Retrieved 10 November 2011.
1 2 "Overview of Obo". European Commission Joint Research Centre. Oct 28, 2010. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
↑ "Tourist Attractions". Sao Tome and Principe Travel and Tourism. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
↑ Ham, Anthony (30 July 2010). Lonely Planet Africa. Lonely Planet. pp. 624–. ISBN 978-1-74104-988-6 . Retrieved 15 November 2011.

External links

Coordinates: 0°9′0″N6°34′0″E / 0.15000°N 6.56667°E / 0.15000; 6.56667

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[Obo-1] 1 2 3 4 "Conservation history". Obo Park.com. Retrieved 10 November 2011.

[jrc-2] "Ôbo (São Tomé e Príncipe) - Area report" . Retrieved 16 June 2013.

[Office1969-3] United States. Naval Oceanographic Office (1969). Sailing directions for the southwest coast of Africa, from Cape Palmas to Cape of Good Hope . Retrieved 10 November 2011.

[bioval.jrc.ec.europa.eu2010-4] 1 2 "Overview of Obo". European Commission Joint Research Centre. Oct 28, 2010. Retrieved 15 November 2011.

[saotomeislands.com-5] "Tourist Attractions". Sao Tome and Principe Travel and Tourism. Retrieved 15 November 2011.

[Ham2010-6] Ham, Anthony (30 July 2010). Lonely Planet Africa. Lonely Planet. pp. 624–. ISBN 978-1-74104-988-6 . Retrieved 15 November 2011.