National Park W

The National Park W (French: Parc national du W ) is a cross-border national park in the African states Niger , Burkina Faso and Benin . Together with the Pendjari National Park in Benin and the Arly National Park in Burkina Faso, it forms the WAP National Park Complex , which has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2017 .

The W National Park in the WAP complex

W National Park, satellite image

Elephants in the W National Park

history

The French colonial administration at the time protected the area, which was uninhabited due to a tsetse fly plague, for the first time in 1927 as a parc refuge for large game. In 1937 it was classified as a réserve totale de faune (game reserve). The game reserve was converted into a national park by a decree of August 4, 1954, which was promulgated by an ordinance of August 19, 1954.

The part of the park belonging to Niger was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. Until 2008, the maintenance of the park was co-financed by the project “Ecosystèmes Protégés en Afrique Soudano-Sahélienne” (ECOPAS) from EU funds. As part of the WAP National Park complex, the entire extent of the park has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2017 .

topography

The National Park W is located about 150 km southeast of the Nigerien capital Niamey in the triangle of Niger (2190 km²), Burkina Fasos (3000 km²) and Benins (5020 km²) on the Niger (river) at 11 ° 54 'to 12 ° 35' N and 2 ° 04 'to 2 ° 50' E. In Niger, the Tamou game reserve (northwest; 760 km²) and the Dosso game reserve border the national park, in Burkina Faso the Réserve partial de la Kourtiagou . The name "W" refers to the course of the Niger River, which here is reminiscent of the letter of the same name.

Landscape and climate

The W National Park is located in the transition zone between two large regions, the open savannah and the West African forests. The parts of the national park located directly on the Niger River represent their own biogeographical zone due to the larger water supply. The protected area lies entirely on the plain, with a poor relief (highest elevation 338 m). The entire “W” National Park, including the Tamou Game Reserve, is at an altitude of 200 to 370 m above sea level . The soils are mostly poor in nutrients, except in the valleys of the Niger and its tributaries.

The regional climate is extremely tropical with warm winters, very hot summers and a monsoon season . The annual precipitation is 800 mm.

vegetation

Dry river bed

The number of plant species in National Park W is estimated at over 500. There are six different types of habitats within the national park : Bowé , scrubland (on sandy soils), tree savannahs and seasonal gallery forests (along seasonal watercourses), partly seasonal gallery forests (where moist depressions and dry plateaus alternate), evergreen gallery forests (on deep topsoil) ) and the flooded floodplains along the Niger. The plants in National Park W also include the two only species of orchid found in Niger , Eulophia cucculata and Eulophia guineensis .

Wildlife

Roan antelope

The W National Park is home to a typical savanna fauna with over 70 diurnal mammal species. Among them are Sudan buffalo , anubis baboons , hussar monkeys , warthogs and hippos . The number of elephants is unknown; in 1983 there were around 1,000 animals. The predators are represented by the critically endangered West African lions , leopards , striped and spotted hyenas , jackals , servals and caracals . In addition, there is one of the last populations of the North West African cheetah . Among the many antelope species are Kob -Antilope, bushbuck , red-flanked duiker , common duiker , Defassa waterbuck , reedbuck , roan antelope , West Africa hartebeest , Topi and Oribi , in the northern parts also Rotstirn- and Dama Gazelle .

In addition to its mammals, the national park has a rich tropical bird life with over 350 species. In addition to the local birds, there are also numerous migratory birds in the national park area. The species found throughout the W National Park include guinea fowl , bustards and vultures. Geese, ducks, waders , ibises , storks and herons are native to the watercourses . Various types of reptiles live in the Niger River , including the Nile crocodile and various types of fish.

Conflicts of use

As a result of the increasingly scarce grazing land for cattle breeding in the Sudan zone, shepherds keep driving their animals to graze in the national parks. Tens of thousands of cattle have been counted in National Park W in some years.

After the departure of the local administration organized by ECOPAS in 2008, the conflict between the local population and the protection goals of the national park intensified. The poaching of large animals is also increasing.

literature

German

Savannah in the National Park W

The Mékrou near the triangle in the National Park W.

Kirchmair, Ivana. 2009. Flora and vegetation on termite mounds in North Benin . Diploma thesis, Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main.
Wally and Horst Hagen: The African national parks as habitats for elephants . In: Vitus B. Dröscher (1990): Save the Elephants of Africa (pp. 218–219)

English

Grettenberger, JF (1984): 'W' National Park in Niger. A case for urgent assistance . Oryx 18 (4): 230-236.
Koster, S. (1977): The ecology of Parc National du "W" du Niger . M.Sc. Thesis, Michigan State University.
Koster, S. & Grettenberger, J. (1983): A preliminary survey of birds in Park W Niger . Malimbus 5: 62-72
Magha, MI, Kambou, JB & Koudenoukpo, J. (2001): Beyond Boundaries: Transboundary Natural Resource Management in “W” Park . Biodiversity Support Program (BSP). [2]
Nacoulma, BMI, Schmidt, M., Hahn, K., Thiombiano, A. (2020): A checklist of vascular plants of the W National Park in Burkina Faso, including the adjacent hunting zones of Tapoa-Djerma and Kondio . Biodiversity Data Journal 8: e54205. [3]
Poche, R. (1973): Niger's threatened park 'W' . Oryx 12 (2): 216-222.
Poche, R. (1975): The Bats of the National Park W Niger, Africa . Mammalia , 39 (1): 39-50.
Poche, R. (1976): A checklist of National Park W, Niger . Africa Mig. Field . 41 (3): 113-115.
Poche, R. (1976): Notes on the Primates in the Park National W Niger, West Africa . Mammalia 41 (2): 187-198.
Price, TL, Aladji-Boni, AS, Paolini, C., Konaté, K., Wilson, R., Issa, A., Novelli, O., Niandou, I., Busson, F. & Dulieu, D. ( 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 0-662-40433-5 R62-375 / 2003E-MRC. ( PDF )
UNDP / GEF (2005): Enhancing the effectiveness and catalyzing the sustainability of the W-Arly-Pendjari (WAP) protected area system . UNEP Project document PIMS 1617. ( PDF )

French

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. ( PDF )
Boy, A. (1963): Antelopes des environs du Parc National de la "W" Niger-Haute-Volta - I. Bois et Forêts des Tropiques . 92: 35–50 ( PDF )
Boy, A. (1964): Antilopes des environs du Parc National de la "W" Niger-Haute-Volta - II. Bois et Forêts des Tropiques . 93: 47-60 ( 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 p. ( PDF )
Inoussa, MM, Mahamane, A., Lykke, AM, Issaka, A. & Saâdou, M. (2011): Cartographie et description des types de végétation du Parc National du W du Niger. Sécheresse 22: 207-211.
Mahamane, A., Saâdou, M. & Lejoly, J. (2007): Phénologie de quelques espèces ligneuses du parc national du "W" (Niger): Sécheresse, 18 (4): 354-8.
Nacoulma, BMI (2012): Dynamique et stratégies de conservation de la végétation et de la phytodiversité du complexe écologique du Parc National du W du Burkina Faso. Doctoral thesis, Université de Ouagadougou.
Newby, J. et al. (1981): Plan d'aménagement du Parc National du 'W' du Niger . Forets et Faune, Niamey.
Rabeil, T. (2003): Distribution potentials of the grand mammifères dans le Parc du W au Niger . PhD thesis Univ. Paris VII. 463 pp. ( PDF )

Individual evidence

^ Parc National du W du Niger (PNW). (PDF) Program on African Protected areas & Conservation (PAPACO), July 2015, accessed on October 25, 2019 (French).

^ W-Arly-Pendjari Complex . Accessed September 7, 2017.

^ A. Zwarg, M. Schmidt, T. Janßen, K. Hahn, G. Zizka: Plant diversity, functional traits and soil conditions of grass savannas on lateritic crusts (bowé) in south eastern Burkina Faso. Flora et Vegetatio Sudano-Sambesica 15: 15-24 (2012). [1]

↑ United Nations Environment Program-World Conservation Monitoring Center (Content Partner); Mark McGinley (Topic Editor). 2009. 'W' National Park, Niger. In: Encyclopedia of Earth . Eds. Cutler J. Cleveland (Washington, DC: Environmental Information Coalition, National Council for Science and the Environment). online ( Memento of the original from November 29, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been 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@ 2