Boucle du Baoulé National Park

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The Boucle-du-Baoulé National Park (meaning: National Park Baoulé Loop) is located in the west of Mali on the eponymous Baoulé River . The park covers an area of 5430 square kilometers bordered by two large, did not explain to the National Park and therefore not adequately protected Réserves (namely the Réserve de Fina and the Reserve de Badinko , plus the Réserves de Kongossambougou and de Kenie-Baoulé ). Therefore, the entire protected area covers an area of ​​7700 km². The national park was founded in 1982 and is managed by the Opération Parc National de la Boucle du Baoulé (OPNBB) in Bamako . In addition to flora and fauna , the Neolithic sites Fanfannyégèné I and II are of national importance.

geography

The Kayes region with the Baoulé area, 2008

The Boucle du Baoulé National Park is located about 200 km from Mali's capital Bamako at an altitude of 200 to 577 m above sea level at 13 ° 10'N to 14 ° 30'N and 08 ° 25'W to 09 ° 50'W . The western border of the park is formed by the Baoulé, the most important tributary of the Bakoyé , which in turn flows into the Bafing . The Manantali dam was built on its upper reaches from 1981 to 1988 , so that a lake of 477 km² was created. In the south of the park is the largest city Samakoulou , close to the park boundary is Banbaran . The eastern border of the park forms the main road from the capital Bamako via Diéma to Nioro du Sahel . The annual precipitation is 2000 to 3000 mm.

history

Fanfannyégèné I is the only dated Neolithic excavation site in the park , where a find from the 1st millennium BC is located. Was assigned. The Fanfannyégèné II site was also discovered in 1980 by the Dutch ecologist Albert C. Heringa, who was working in the park at the time. Here are rock paintings in Mali since 1911 has become known, such as on the Dogon plateau or in the inland delta of the Niger (Aire Soroba). The discovery by Albert Heringa and Eric Huysecom from the Frobenius Institute in Frankfurt was reported for the first time in 1982. Further excavations, financed by Germany and carried out in cooperation with the Institut des Sciences Humaines de Bamaco , followed from 1984 to 1987.

The height of the abri, at the entrance of which the paintings are located, is 4.20 m. On an area of ​​270 m² in Fanfannyégèné II there were anthropomorphic, stick figure-like rock drawings , as well as zoomorphic and symbolic ones, divided into three ensembles. These extend over a maximum width of 18 and a corresponding length of 24 m and were executed in white, black and red colors. The graffiti was done in black, the drawings in red and white. Similar to the Fanfannyégèné I site , they were provisionally dated to around 1000 BC. Dated. A total of 86 sites were examined in the area of ​​the park during Albert Heringa's time.

In French times, Fort Koundou, of which only ruins and a cemetery are evidence, guarded the convoys through this area.

vegetation

In the northern part, which belongs to the southern edge of the Sahel , the vegetation suffering from drought is sparse. This is followed by bush savannah dominated by long threads , further south there are dense gallery forests along the Baoulé River and light forests independent of rivers. The south belongs to the Sudan-Guinea zone.

The vegetation is mainly threatened by clearing to gain agricultural land. In addition, for the Réserve de Fina, a decrease in the wooded savannah areas of 23% within 19 years was proven on the basis of satellite images.

fauna

In addition to lions and leopards , cheetahs are said to be found in the park . In places there are also larger populations of hippos , giraffes , waterbuck , horse , giant eland and lyre antelopes as well as warthogs . The large mammal populations are endangered by hunting and competition with farm animals. In 1981 these were estimated at 13,500 zebus and 59,500 sheep and goats. The north-westernmost African elephants used to live here permanently , but their existence is threatened by the expansion of the Sahel zone to the south.

Population, forms of use

Different ethnic groups live in the park area: the sedentary, farming Kakolo, Sarkolés, Malinke and Bambara , the transhumance-dependent Fulbe , Moors and the fishing Bozo . In 1998, depending on the season, between 78,300 and 150,000 people lived in the park. In the dry season, the north of the park is used more by herdsmen, and agriculture is practiced where the rainfall allows it.

literature

  • Eric Huysecom, Anne Mayor, Séverine Marchi, Anne-Catherine Conscience: Styles et chronologie dans l'art rupestre de la Boucle du Baoulé (Mali): l'abri de Fanfannyégèné II / Styles and chronology in the rupestrine art from La Boucle du Baoulé (Mali): the Fanfannyégèné II rockshelter , in: Sahara 8 (1996) 53-60. ( online , free access)
  • Wally Hagen, Horst Hagen: The African national parks as habitats for elephants. In: Vitus B. Dröscher (Ed.): Save the elephants of Africa. Quickly u. Röhring, Hamburg 1990, ISBN 3-89136-291-9 , pp. 99-131, here p. 218.

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ Eric Huysecom, Louis Chaix, Erhard Schulz: Fanfannyégèné I. Un abri-sous-roche à occupation néolithique au Mali: la fouille, le matériel archéologique, lʼart rupestre , Steiner, Wiesbaden 1990.
  2. ↑ Sylvain Ozainne: Un néolithique ouest-africain. Cadre chrono-culturel, économique et environnemental de l'Holocène récent en Pays dogon, Mali , Africa Magna Verlag, 2013, p. 15.
  3. ^ Albert C. Heringa, Eric Huysecom: Preliminary report on the field explorations in the Baoulé loop (Mali) in the years 1980-1981 , in: Contributions to General and Comparative Archeology 4 (1981) 147-171 ( online ).
  4. ↑ Michel Raimbault, Klena Sanogo: Recherches archéologiques au Mali. Prospections et inventaire, fouilles et études analytiques en Zone lacustre , Karthala, 1991, p. 143, map on p. 146.
  5. ↑ Hady Diallo, Issouf Bamba, Yao Sadaiou Sabas Barima, Marjolein Visser, Abdou Ballo, Adi Mama, Isabelle Vranken, Mohamed Maiga, Jan Bogaert: Effets combinés du climat et des pressions anthropiques sur la dynamique évolutive de la végétation d'une zone protégée du Mali (Réserve de Fina, Boucle du Baoulé) , in: Science et changements planétaires / Sécheresse 22.2 (2011) 97-107.

Coordinates: 13 ° 50 ′  N , 9 ° 5 ′  W