W National Park

Last updated
W Transborder Park
Mekrou river in W-National Park MS 6380.JPG
Mékrou River in the W-National Park
WAP-Komplex englisch.svg
IUCN Protected Areas of the WAP complex
Location Niger-Burkina Faso-Benin
Nearest city Kandi (Benin), Diapaga (Burkina Faso), Tapoa (Niger)
Coordinates 12°31′31″N2°39′48″E / 12.52528°N 2.66333°E / 12.52528; 2.66333
Area10,000 km2 (3,900 sq mi)
EstablishedAugust 4, 1954
Governing bodyECOPAS, Governments of Niger, Burkina Faso, and Benin
Official nameW Regional Park
TypeNatural
Criteriavii, ix, x
Designated1996 (20th session)
Reference no. 749bis
Region Africa
Official nameParc national du W
Designated30 April 1987
Reference no.355 [1]
Official nameParc National du W
Designated27 June 1990
Reference no.492 [1]
Official nameSite Ramsar du Complexe W
Designated2 February 2007
Reference no.1668 [1]

The W National Park (French : Parc national du W) [1] or W Regional Park (French: W du Niger) is a major national park in West Africa around a meander in the Niger River shaped like the letter W (French: double v). The park includes areas of the three countries Niger, Benin and Burkina Faso, and is governed by the three governments. Until 2008, the implementation of a regional management was supported by the EU-funded project ECOPAS (Protected Ecosystems in Sudano-Sahelian Africa, French : Ecosystèmes protégés en Afrique soudano-sahélienne). The three national parks operate under the name W Transborder Park (French : Parc Regional W). [2] The section of W National Park lying in Benin, measuring over 8,000 km2 (3,100 sq mi), came under the full management of African Parks in June 2020. [3] In Benin, W National Park is contiguous with Pendjari National Park which is also under the management of African Parks.

Contents

History

The W National Park of Niger was created by decree on 4 August 1954, and since 1996 has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Within Niger, the Park is listed as a National Park, IUCN Type II, and is part of a larger complex of Reserves and protected areas. These include the adjacent Dallol Bosso (Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar) on the eastern bank of the Niger River and the partial overlap of the smaller "Parc national du W" (Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar). [4] The three parks are BirdLife International Important Bird Areas (IBAs) of types A1 and A3 (IBA codes IBA NE001, IBA BF008, and IBA BJ001).

Geography

Bends in the River Niger which give W National Park its distinctive name Bends in the River Niger which give W National Park its distinctive name.jpg
Bends in the River Niger which give W National Park its distinctive name

In the three nations, the regional park covers some 10,000 km2 (3,900 sq mi) largely uninhabited by humans, having been until the 1970s a malarial zone of wetlands formed by the delta of the Mékrou River with the Niger, broken by rocky hills. Historically, the area has been at one time a major area of human habitation, judged by the important archaeological sites (mostly tombs) found in the area.

Flora

A total of 454 species of plants were recorded in the park, including two orchids found only in Niger. The park also constitutes the southern limit of tiger bush plateaus distribution in Niger.

Fauna

The park is known for its large mammals, including aardvark, baboon, African buffalo, caracal, cheetah, African bush elephant, hippopotamus, African leopard, West African lion, serval and warthog. The park provides a home for some of West Africa's last wild African elephants. However, the rare West African giraffe, today restricted to small parts of the Niger, is absent from the area. The W park is also known for historic occurrence of packs of the endangered West African wild dog, [5] although this canid may now be locally extinct. [6]

The park is one of the last strongholds for the Northwest African cheetah. A small population of 25 individuals is estimated to be resident across the W–Arli–Pendjari protected area complex. [7]

The W National Park is also known for its bird populations, especially transitory migrating species, with over 350 species identified in the park. [8] The park has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area. [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildlife of Benin</span> Natural flora and fauna of Benin

Benin has varied resources of wildlife comprising flora and fauna, which are primarily protected in its two contiguous protected areas of the Pendjari National Park and W National Park. The former is known for many species of avifauna and the latter park is rich in mammals and predators. In addition, many other forest reserves are noted in the country but are not easily accessible, well protected or adequately surveyed for its wildlife resources. The protected area of Benin which is defined as a National Protected Area System is in northern Benin, mostly with a woody savanna ecosystem. It covers 10.3 percent of the nation and is part of the three-nation W-Arly-Pendjari Complex (WAP).

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mékrou River</span> River in Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">W-Arly-Pendjari Complex</span>

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Parc national du W". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  2. parc-w.net: Official site.
  3. "Benin Government Commits to Long-term Protection of W National Park in Benin".
  4. World Database on Protected Areas: W du Niger
  5. W National Park. 2009
  6. C.Michael Hogan. 2009
  7. Durant, Sarah M.; Mitchell, Nicholas; Groom, Rosemary; Pettorelli, Nathalie; Ipavec, Audrey; Jacobson, Andrew P.; Woodroffe, Rosie; Böhm, Monika; Hunter, Luke T. B.; Becker, Matthew S.; Broekhuis, Femke; Bashir, Sultana; Andresen, Leah; Aschenborn, Ortwin; Beddiaf, Mohammed; Belbachir, Farid; et al. (2017). "The global decline of cheetah Acinonyx jubatus and what it means for conservation". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 114 (3): 528–533. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1611122114 . PMC   5255576 . PMID   28028225.
  8. United Nations Environment Programme-World Conservation Monitoring Centre (Content Partner); Mark McGinley (Topic Editor). 2009. "'W' National Park, Niger." In: Encyclopedia of Earth. Eds. Cutler J. Cleveland (Washington, D.C.: Environmental Information Coalition, National Council for Science and the Environment). online Archived 2009-11-29 at the Wayback Machine
  9. BirdLife International. (2013). Important Bird Areas factsheet: 'W' National Park. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 19/03/2013.

Literature