W National Park
Encyclopedia
The W National Park is a major national park in West Africa
around a meander
in the River Niger shaped like a "W
". 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-fundet Project ECOPAS (French Ecosystèmes Protégés en Afrique Soudano-Sahélienne). The three national parks operate under the name W Transborder Park .
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). The three parks are BirdLife International
Important Bird Area
s (IBAs)of types A1 and A3 (IBA codes IBA NE001, IBA BF008, and IBA BJ001).
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.
plateaus distribution in Niger
.
s, baboon
s, buffalo
, caracal
, cheetah
s, elephant
s, hippopotamus
es, leopard
s, lion
s, serval
and warthog
s. 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 park. The W Park is also known for historic occurrence of packs of the endangered Painted Hunting Dog, although this canid may now be extirpated from the area. The W area is also known for its bird populations, especially transitory migrating species, with over 350 species identified in the park.
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
around a meander
Meander
A meander in general is a bend in a sinuous watercourse. A meander is formed when the moving water in a stream erodes the outer banks and widens its valley. A stream of any volume may assume a meandering course, alternately eroding sediments from the outside of a bend and depositing them on the...
in the River Niger shaped like a "W
W
W is the 23rd letter in the basic modern Latin alphabet.In other Germanic languages, including German, its pronunciation is similar or identical to that of English V...
". The park includes areas of the three countries Niger
Niger
Niger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...
, Benin
Benin
Benin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin is where a majority of the population is located...
and Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso – also known by its short-form name Burkina – is a landlocked country in west Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest.Its size is with an estimated...
, and is governed by the three governments. Until 2008, the implementation of a regional management was supported by the EU-fundet Project ECOPAS (French Ecosystèmes Protégés en Afrique Soudano-Sahélienne). The three national parks operate under the name W Transborder Park .
Creation
The W National Park of Niger was created by decreeDecree
A decree is a rule of law issued by a head of state , according to certain procedures . It has the force of law...
on 4 August 1954, and since 1996 has been listed as a UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
. 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
Niger River
The Niger River is the principal river of western Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in southeastern Guinea...
and the partial overlap of the smaller "Parc national du W" (Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar). The three parks are BirdLife International
BirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global Partnership of conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources...
Important Bird Area
Important Bird Area
An Important Bird Area is an area recognized as being globally important habitat for the conservation of bird populations. Currently there are about 10,000 IBAs worldwide. The program was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife International...
s (IBAs)of types A1 and A3 (IBA codes IBA NE001, IBA BF008, and IBA BJ001).
Geography
In the three nations, the Regional park covers some 10,000 km² largely uninhabited by humans, having been until the 1970s a Malarial zone of wetlands formed by the delta of the Mekrou RiverMekrou River
The Mékrou River is a river of Benin and Niger. It flows through the W National Park.A tributary of the Niger River, it forms a border between Benin and Niger. The proposed construction of the Dyondyonga electricity dam on the river has caused some concern amongst environmentalists....
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
The parc also constitute the southern limit of tiger bushTiger bush
Tiger bush is a patterned vegetation community consisting of alternating bands of trees or shrubs, separated by bare ground or low herb cover, that run roughly parallel to contour lines of equal elevation...
plateaus distribution in Niger
Niger
Niger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...
.
Fauna
The park is known for its large mammals, including aardvarkAardvark
The aardvark is a medium-sized, burrowing, nocturnal mammal native to Africa...
s, baboon
Baboon
Baboons are African and Arabian Old World monkeys belonging to the genus Papio, part of the subfamily Cercopithecinae. There are five species, which are some of the largest non-hominoid members of the primate order; only the mandrill and the drill are larger...
s, buffalo
African Buffalo
The African buffalo, affalo, nyati, Mbogo or Cape buffalo is a large African bovine. It is not closely related to the slightly larger wild Asian water buffalo, but its ancestry remains unclear...
, caracal
Caracal
The caracal is a fiercely territorial medium-sized cat ranging over Western Asia, South Asia and Africa.The word caracal comes from the Turkish word "karakulak", meaning "black ear". In North India and Pakistan, the caracal is locally known as syahgosh or shyahgosh, which is a Persian term...
, cheetah
Cheetah
The cheetah is a large-sized feline inhabiting most of Africa and parts of the Middle East. The cheetah is the only extant member of the genus Acinonyx, most notable for modifications in the species' paws...
s, elephant
Elephant
Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
s, hippopotamus
Hippopotamus
The hippopotamus , or hippo, from the ancient Greek for "river horse" , is a large, mostly herbivorous mammal in sub-Saharan Africa, and one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae After the elephant and rhinoceros, the hippopotamus is the third largest land mammal and the heaviest...
es, leopard
Leopard
The leopard , Panthera pardus, is a member of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera, the other three being the tiger, lion, and jaguar. The leopard was once distributed across eastern and southern Asia and Africa, from Siberia to South Africa, but its...
s, lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
s, serval
Serval
The serval , Leptailurus serval or Caracal serval, known in Afrikaans as Tierboskat, "tiger-forest-cat", is a medium-sized African wild cat. DNA studies have shown that the serval is closely related to the African golden cat and the caracal...
and warthog
Warthog
The Warthog or Common Warthog is a wild member of the pig family that lives in grassland, savanna, and woodland in Sub-Saharan Africa. In the past it was commonly treated as a subspecies of P...
s. The park provides a home for some of West Africa's last wild African Elephants. However, the rare West African Giraffe
West African Giraffe
The West African Giraffe, Niger Giraffe or Nigerian Giraffe is a subspecies of giraffe distinguished by its light colored spots, which is found in the Sahel regions of West Africa...
, today restricted to small parts of the Niger, is absent from the park. The W Park is also known for historic occurrence of packs of the endangered Painted Hunting Dog, although this canid may now be extirpated from the area. The W area is also known for its bird populations, especially transitory migrating species, with over 350 species identified in the park.
Literature
- Benoit M (1998) Statut et usage du sol en périphérie du parc national du "W" du Niger. Tome 1 : Contribution à l’étude du milieu naturel et des ressources végétales du canton de Tamou et du Parc du "W". ORSTOM, Niamey, Niger, 41 p. http://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/pleins_textes_6/griseli1/010016709.pdf
- Doussa S (2004) Les impacts de la culture cotonnière sur la gestion des ressources naturelles du Parc W. Maitrise, Université de Ouagadougou.
- Grégoire JM, Fournier A, Eva H & Sawadogo L (2003) Caractérisation de la dynamique des feux et de l’évolution du couvert dans le Parc du W: Burkina Faso, Bénin et Niger. 64 S. http://www-tem.jrc.it/PDF_publis/2003/Gregoire_EUR_ParcW_2003.pdf
- Hogan C.Michael (2009) Painted Hunting Dog: Lycaon pictus, GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg
- Koster S & Grettenberger J (1983) A preliminary survey of birds in Park W Niger. Malimbus, 5: 62-72
- Poche R (1976) A checklist of National Park W, Niger. Africa Mig. Field. 41(3): 113- 115.
- Poche R (1973) Niger's threatened park 'W'. Oryx 12(2): 216-222 .
- Rabeil T (2003) Distribution potentielles des grands mammifères dans le Parc du W au Niger. Doctoral Thesis, Univ. Paris VII. 463 S. http://tel.ccsd.cnrs.fr/docs/00/04/71/22/PDF/tel-00006931.pdf
- Price et al. (2003) The “W” Regional Park of Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger - Building on a Process of Regional Integration to Address both Local Interests and Transboundary Challenges. World Parks Congress 2003, Durban, RSA. In: Pansky, Diane (ed.). 2005. Governance Stream of the Vth World Parks Congress. Ottawa, Canada: Parks Canada and IUCN/WCPA. ISBN: R62-375/2003E-MRC 0-662-40433-5. http://www.earthlore.ca/clients/WPC/English/grfx/sessions/PDFs/session_1/Price.pdf
- W National Park of Niger. 2009. http://www.wwfus.org/bsp/publications/africa/108/190/chap2.htm
External links
- Detailed Nigerien government tourist map.
- WCMC World Heritage Site Data Sheet
- UNESCO Page on W National Park
- BirdLife IBA Factsheet 'W' National Park.
- Le Parc du W du Niger (Niger, Burkina Faso, Bénin): Aires protégées Burkina Faso - Niger - Bénin. Centre IRD d'Orléans Research Summary, University of Orleans (France)