Upper Orashi Forest Reserve

Upper Orashi Forest Reserve
Coordinates: 4 ° 53 '24 "  N , 6 ° 30' 36"  E
Location:	Nigeria
Specialty:	State of Rivers
Next city:	Ahoada West , Abua-Odual , Port Harcourt
Surface:	251.64 km²
Founding:	1899

The Upper Orashi Forest Reserve is a nature reserve in the Nigerian state of Rivers . It occupies an area of ​​251.65 km² in the center of the Niger Delta and was included on April 30, 2008 in the list of wetlands of international importance by the Ramsar Convention . It was originally established on December 30, 1899 by the then administration of the British colony on an area of ​​96.96 km², this forms the core zone of the protected area. It is located on the upper reaches of the Orashi River, in the area of ​​the greater communities of Abua-Odual and Ahoada West . It is administered by the state's Department of Agriculture and Forestry. In the area lie the villages of Odon, Anyo, Emelego, Adoda, Illogovia, Ekunnga, Amenboko and Okolomaeh. It is classified by the IUCN under Category VI, Resource Protection Area with Management.

The Orashi River is a tributary of the Niger , which branches off from the main stream at the level of Onitsha municipality. Large areas of the area are flooded during the Niger flood season, from September to November. The sedimentation in the floodplains increases the fertility of the otherwise moderately fertile soils, which consist of different alluvial soil types . The climate is characterized as tropical alternating humidity, with a long rainy season from March to November and a short dry season from December to February. Average rainfall is 2510 mm per year, with September being the rainiest month, the height of the West African monsoons . The dry months are determined by the north-east Passat Harmattan blowing from the Sahara .

The flora in the Ramsar Conservation Area is determined by tropical lowland rainforest , swamps, moors and seasonal lakes. The rainforest is a primary forest in the core area and a secondary forest in the peripheral zones . Lophira alata , Ricinodendron heudelottii , Albizia adianthifolia , Hexalobus crispiflorus , among others, grow here . The Hallea ledermannii , which is important for the forest industry, occurs in this area, but has been pushed back by extensive use. The oil palms ( Elaeis guineensis ) and Musanga cecropioides also occur in the higher areas .

The fauna in the Upper Orashi Forest Reserve is very diverse and is characterized by the high proportion of Nigerian endemics among the primate species living there . So come Nigeria-moustached guenon ( Cercopithecus sclateri ), white-throated guenon ( C. erythrogaster ), Niger Delta red colobus ( Piliocolobus epieni ) is present in this area. Other large mammals include the giant forest hog ( Hylochoerus meinertzhageni ), the pygmy hippo ( Hexaprotodon liberiensis ) or Hexaprotodon liberiensis heslopi and only in recent years observed black-fronted duiker ( Cephalophus nigrifrons ) and the Green Bush Squirrel ( Paraxerus poensis known). A population of the West African armored crocodile ( Mecistops cataphractus ), which has so far hardly been explored, exists along the course of the Orashi river . Around 90 species of avifauna are found in the protected area . These include the African gray parrot ( Psittacus erithacus ), hard arboreal duck ( Pteronetta hartlaubii ), snake buzzard ( Dryotriorchis spectabilis ), guinea turaco ( Tauraco persa ) and the maiden dove ( Turtur brehmeri ).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Ogunkoya: Information Sheet on Ramsar Wetlands (RIS) - 2006-2008 Version ( Memento of the original from October 14, 2013 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. on wetlands.org (PDF document; 129 kB) (English) 
2. ↑ The Annotated Ramsar List: Nigeria (English)
3. ↑ Birdlife international: NG015Upper Orashi forests (English)
4. ↑ Rivers - ”Treasure Base of The Nation”  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on NYSCWIKI (English)