Bia Tawaya National Park

Bia Tawaya National Park IUCN Category II - National Park
Tallest tree in the Bia forest
location	Western North Region in Ghana
surface	78 km²
WDPA ID	672
Geographical location	6 ° 28 '  N , 3 ° 5'  W Coordinates: 6 ° 28 '0 "  N , 3 ° 5' 0"  W
Setup date	1974
administration	?

The Bia Tawaya National Park , also known as Bia National Park , is a national park in the Western North Region of Ghana , whose predominant vegetation is pristine tropical rainforest . It was declared a forest reserve in 1935 with a size of 306 km² and named after the river Bia , which flows through the area. It has been an official national park since 1974, originally with an area of ​​308 km². Its current size is 78 km². In the south there is a 563 km² tropical rainforest area , which is placed under a certain protection as the Bia Game Production Reserve or Bia Resource Reserve , but contains numerous tree species that are interesting for the timber trade.

At an altitude of 145 to 230 m above sea level , there is an annual rainfall of 1300 to 1600 mm. The area of ​​the Bia Game Production Reserve is 170 to 643 m above sea level with an annual rainfall of 1500 to 1700 mm. The park is covered by partially untouched rainforest with numerous evergreen and deciduous tree species, palms , lianas and orchids . A large number of the plants, trees and flowers can be classified as rare. Some of the tallest trees in West Africa are in the Bia Tawaya National Park.

62 species of mammals live in the park. One can find the classic species of the rainforest, among them leopards , bongos , bay duiker , yellow-backed duiker , buffalo and many species of monkeys including chimpanzees , as well as over 160 species of birds and antelope . According to data from 1987, this large ecosystem was home to around 150 forest elephants , and in the 1990s it was said to have been 300 to 500.

The Bia National Park was 1983 Biosphere Reserve of UNESCO explained. The National Park and the Bia Resource Reserve are an Important Bird Area . Poaching and timber harvesting pose serious threats to Bia Tawaya National Park. Bia National Park receives financial support from the EU under the Ghana Protected Area Development Program .

See also

• National parks in Ghana
• List of biosphere reserves in Africa

literature

• Wally and Horst Hagen: The African national parks as habitats for elephants . In: Vitus B. Dröscher (Ed.): Save the elephants of Africa . Goldmann Verlag , Munich 1992, ISBN 3-442-12322-4 , p. 212-213 .

Web links

Commons : Bia Tawaya National Park  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files

• Entry by UNESCO. Retrieved October 14, 2019 . 
• Bia National Park and Resource Reserve. In: BirdLife International . Retrieved October 14, 2019 . 
• Wildlife and Nature Reserves: Bia National Park ( Memento of July 11, 2011 in the Internet Archive )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ The Clearing-House Mechanism (chm) of Ghana - Bia National Park ( Memento from July 3, 2012 on WebCite ) (English)