Bia National Park is a national park

National park

A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...

 in the Western Region

Western Region (Ghana)

The Western Region of Ghana, reaching from the Côte d'Ivoire border in the west to the Central Region in the east, includes the large twin city of Sekondi-Takoradi on the coast, coastal Axim, and a hilly inland area including Elubo. It includes Ghana's southernmost location, Cape Three Points,...

 of Ghana

Ghana

Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...

. It is also a biosphere reserve with a 563 square kilometer resource reserve. It has some of Ghana's last remnants of relatively untouched forest complete with its full diversity of wildlife. Some of the tallest trees left in West Africa are found in this national park.

Geography

Bia National Park is located near the Ivorian

Côte d'Ivoire

The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast is a country in West Africa. It has an area of , and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be...

 border, the Bia River

Bia River

The Bia is a river in West Africa that flows through Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire. A hydroelectric dam was built at Ayame in 1959, causing the formation of Lake Ayame ....

, and its tributaries, which flow into the Cote d’ Ivoire drainage area. It is found in the transitional zone between moist-evergreen and moist semi-deciduous forest types. Access to the park from Kumasi

Kumasi

Kumasi is a city in southern central Ghana's Ashanti region. It is located near Lake Bosomtwe, in the Rain Forest Region about northwest of Accra. Kumasi is approximately north of the Equator and north of the Gulf of Guinea...

 is through Bibiani

Bibiani

Bibiani is the town capital of the Bibiani / Anhwiaso / Bekwai district in the Western Region of Ghana....

, Sefwi Wiawso to Sefwi Asempanaye or Goaso

Goaso

Goaso is a city in Ghana. It is the capital of Asunafo North municipal....

 through Sankore to Sefwi Asempanaye. From Sunyani

Sunyani

Sunyani is a city in the West African republic of Ghana, and is the capital of the both the Sunyani District and Brong-Ahafo Region.According to the 2005 population estimates 80,245 people reside in the city of Sunyani, with a growth rate, in the city, of 3.4% per annum.-History of...

 it can be reached through Brekum, Wanfi, Adabokrom and Debiso. From La Cote D’lvoire the park can be reached through Osei Kojokrom and Debiso.

History

Bia was created in 1935 and named after the Bia River which drains the area. It became an official national park in 1974. Intensive farming destroyed much of the original vegetation in the park. However since 1975, no human activities like farming or logging have taken place. In 1985 the park was named a biosphere reserve and a UNESCO world heritage site.

Wildlife

There are 62 species of mammals (including 10 primate species) known to live in the park, and over 160 species of birds, including the endangered white-breasted guinea fowl

White-breasted Guineafowl

The White-breasted Guineafowl, Agelastes meleagrides is a medium-sized, up to 45cm long, terrestrial bird of the guineafowl family. It has a black plumage with a small, bare red head, white breast, long black tail, greenish brown bill and greyish feet...

. The park is also the only known home of the newly discovered species of lizard, Agama sylvanus. Ghana's major protected forest antelope communities also live in the park.