Gola Rainforest National Park

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Gola Rainforest National Park

IUCN Category II - National Park

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location Eastern Province , Sierra Leone
surface 710.7 km²
WDPA ID 555542335
Geographical location 7 ° 30 ′  N , 10 ° 55 ′  W Coordinates: 7 ° 30 ′ 0 ″  N , 10 ° 55 ′ 0 ″  W
mark
Map of Sierra Leone
Setup date 2011
administration National Protected Area Authority

The Gola Rainforest National Park ( English Gola Rainforest National Park ) is located in the southeast of Sierra Leone near the border with Liberia in the Eastern Province in the districts of Kailahun and Kenema .

Since December 2011 the already existing protected area has the status of a national park . It is considered to be one of the most important forest reserves in West Africa and one of the last untouched primary forests in Africa. As part of the Guinea forest of West Africa, it is one of the world's biodiversity hotspots .

The national park is proposed for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List .

After the proclamation of the Gola Forest National Park in neighboring Liberia in 2016, the establishment of the cross-border park is planned, which (as of May 2017) is in the project phase under the Across the River - a Transboundary Peace Park for Sierra Leone and Liberia Project .

description

The national park consists of the three areas "Gola Central" (formerly "Gola North") (around 460 km²), "Gola South" (formerly "Gola West" and "Gola East") (230 km²) and "Gola North" ( formerly "Extension 2") (60 km²). The areas are located in the southeast of the country, about 330 kilometers from the capital Freetown .

Gola-Zentral is dominated by a hilly landscape at an altitude of more than 300  m . The highest point is around 475  m . The area is crossed by the Mogbai, Woiguwa, Waye, Koadi and Magoli rivers. Except for the Waye, all of them flow into the Mano , the border river to Liberia .

Gola-Nord is separated from Gola Central by the Komboya River and crossed by the Magbole. The park part borders on the neighboring country Liberia.

Gola-Süd is located southwest of Gola Zentral and is separated from the other two parts of the park by a strip about 12 kilometers wide (including the village of Nomo ). Wetlands predominate here. This part of the park borders directly on the Mano and forms the border to Liberia. At 330 meters, the Bagra is the highest point in Gola East. The Mahoi River and the main A015 road cut through the park.

There is an international research program on the Diana amers , supported by the British " Royal Society for the Protection of Birds " and " BirdLife International ".

fauna and Flora

Pygmy hippopotamus in a zoological garden
Drawing of a Jentink ducker

The Gola Forest is one of the last retreats for rare animal and plant species and is also the largest contiguous primary forest area in Sierra Leone.

Flora

So far, 899 plant species have been identified in the national park, including 232 tree species. The dominant tree species is Heritiera utilis . Species from the legume family (Fabaceae) such as Cynometra leonensis and Brachystegia leonensis are particularly common .

Mammals

As one of the most important protected areas in the country, the Gola Forest is home to 49 major mammal species. There are eleven species of monkeys, including chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes ), Diana cats ( Cercopithecus diana ) and soot ( Cercocebus atys ). The chimpanzee population is given as 270 animals (as of 2010).

In addition, there are the forest elephant ( Loxodonta cyclotis ) and / or African elephant ( Loxodonta africana ), pygmy hippopotamuses ( Hexaprotodon liberiensis ) jentink's duiker ( Cephalophus jentinki ), zebra duiker ( Cephalophus zebra ), Brooke-Ducker ( Cephalophus brookei ), black duiker ( Cephalophus niger ) and Maxwell duiker ( Philantomba maxwellii ).

There are also 26 species of rodents and insectivores in smaller mammals, including Crocidura jouvenetae , Crocidura obscurior , Malacomys cansdalei , Crocidura grandiceps and Crocidura buettikoferi . In addition, 34 species of bats have been identified, including Rhinolophus hillorum and Hipposideros marisae .

Birds

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has identified 274 species of birds, 14 of which are critically endangered. According to a study carried out in 2009, 327 bird species are found in the national park, of which at least 18 are rare or threatened with extinction. The best-known species include the rare yellow-headed rockhopper ( Picathartes gymnocephalus ), the white-breasted guinea fowl ( Agelastes meleagrides ) and the ballmann weaver ( Malimbus ballmanni ) , which are rare in the park .

Herpetofauna

Most of the 43 amphibians and 13 reptile species found are typical forest dwellers. A third of the amphibian species are classified as endangered by the IUCN , including the critically endangered toad Amietophrynus taiensis . Of the reptiles, only the crocodile ( Osteolaemus tetraspis ) is considered endangered.

fishes

31 species of fish are known from the Mahoi and Koye rivers.

insects

More than 600 species of butterflies and 140 species of dragonflies have so far been identified in the national park.

Touristic

The park can be reached by normal car via the provincial capital Kenema (approx. 40 km). From there a sand road leads via Joru to Lalehun (in the rainy season an off-road vehicle is necessary). From Pujehun it is about 30 km to the national park.

With financial support from the European Union , among others, three lodges have been created at the three entrances and numerous camping opportunities in the park in recent years (as of June 2014). The lodges have very simple furnishings.

  • Belebu Community Lodge - entrance gate Belebu
  • Diana Monkey Lodge - at the Seleti gate
  • Presidential Lodge - Lalehun entrance gate

See also

literature

  • Annika Hillers et al: Pygmy Hippo Research and Conservation project: Gola Rainforest National Park May 2013 – April 2014. Basel Zoo, July 2015. ( PDF )
  • Annika Hillers: Final Report on the Activities of the Research Unit: Across the River - A Transboundary Peace Park for Sierra Leone and Liberia 2010-2013. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, September 2013. ( PDF )
  • AG Davies: The Gola Forest Reserves, Sierra Leone: wildlife conservation and forest management , IUCN, 1987. ( PDF )

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Biodiversity Hotspots - Guinean Forests of West Africa ( Memento of the original dated February 23, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.biodiversityhotspots.org
  2. ^ Gola Rainforest National Park: UNEP welcomes the opening of Sierra Leone's second national park , UNEP , December 3, 2011, accessed December 26, 2013.
  3. ^ Tentative Lists Sierra Leone. June 1, 2006 Retrieved June 16, 2014
  4. ^ Liberia passes Gola Forest National Park Act into law. GNN Liberia, October 3, 2016.
  5. ^ Gola Liberia. Gola Rainforest National Park, date unknown accessed June 15, 2014
  6. ^ Across the River: a transboundary peace park for Sierra Leone and Liberia Project. BirdLife International. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
  7. ↑ Wildlife. Gola Rainforest National Park. Retrieved May 18, 2017
  8. ↑ Sierra Leone National Chimpanzee Census August 2010. Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary, 2010, pp. 45f.
  9. ↑ Erik Klop, Jeremy Lindsell and Alhaji Siaka: Biodiversity of Gola Forest, Sierra Leone. A survey of Gola's Mammals, Birds, Butterflies, Dragonflies and damselflies, Trees and non-woody plants Forest structure. Conservation Society of Sierra Leone, Government of Sierra Leone, 2008, pp. 1–195 ( [1] )
  10. ↑ Wildlife. Gola Rainforest National Park. Retrieved May 18, 2017
  11. ↑ Mammals. Gola Rainforest National Park. Retrieved May 18, 2017
  12. ↑ Wildlife. Gola Rainforest National Park. Retrieved May 18, 2017
  13. ↑ Wildlife. Gola Rainforest National Park, date unknown accessed June 15, 2014
  14. ↑ Wildlife. Gola Rainforest National Park. Retrieved May 18, 2017
  15. ↑ Wildlife. Gola Rainforest National Park. Retrieved May 18, 2017
  16. ↑ Wildlife. Gola Rainforest National Park. Retrieved May 18, 2017