Taï National Park
Taï National Park | |
---|---|
Côte d'Ivoire | |
Coordinates | 5°45′N 7°7′W / 5.750°N 7.117°W |
Area | 3,300 km2 (1,300 sq mi) |
Established | 28 August 1972 |
Website | www |
Criteria | Natural: (vii), (x) |
Reference | 195 |
Inscription | 1982 (6th Session) |
Area | 330,000 ha (820,000 acres) |
Taï National Park (Parc National de Taï) is a
Taï National Park is approximately 100 kilometers (62 mi) from the Ivorian coast on the border with Liberia between the Cavalla and Sassandra rivers. It covers an area of 3,300 square kilometers (1,300 sq mi) with a 200 square kilometers (77 sq mi) buffer zone up to 396 meters (1,299 ft).
The Taï Forest reserve was created in 1926 and promoted to national park status in 1972. It was recognized as a
The Taï Forest is a natural reservoir of the Ebola virus. The World Health Organization has expressed concern over the proximity of this reservoir to Félix-Houphouët-Boigny International Airport at Abidjan.[6]
Geography
The park consists of 4,540 square kilometers (1,750 sq mi) of tropical evergreen forest located at the south western corner of
Climate
There are two distinct climatic zones of sub-equatorial type. Annual rainfall ranges from a mean of 1,700 millimeters (67 in) in the north to 2,200 millimeters (87 in) in the southwest, falling from March/April to July, with a shorter wet season in September to October. There is no dry season in the south but in the north it is marked from November to February/March, accentuated briefly by dry northeasterly
Flora
The park is one of the last remaining portions of the vast primary Upper Guinean rain forest that once stretched across present-day
Two main types of forest can be recognised grading from diverse moist evergreen forest with leguminous trees in the southern third to moist semi-evergreen forest in the north. Large numbers of
The forest plants still play a large role in the lives of people in the Taï region. The fruit of Thaumatococcus daniellii locally known as katamfe or katempfe, yoruba or soft cane is used in traditional medicine and contains a protein substance five thousand times sweeter than sugar cane. The bark of the Terminalia superba, or "tree of malaria", is used by the ethnic Kroumen for the treatment of malaria. This means that the park is an attic of genetic potential not yet explored by natural science and medicine.
Fauna
The fauna is fairly typical of West African forests but very diverse, nearly 1,000 vertebrate species being found. The park contains 140 species of mammal and 47 of the 54 species of large mammal known to occur in the Guinean rain forest, including twelve regional endemics and five threatened species. The region's isolation between two major rivers has added to its particular character.
Mammals
Mammals include 11 species of primates: western red colobus, Diana monkey, Campbell's mona monkey, lesser and greater spot-nosed monkey, black-and-white colobus, ursine colobus, green colobus, sooty mangabey, the dwarf galago and Bosman's potto. There were more than 2,000 West African chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) in the 1980s. In 1995, Marchesi et al. estimated the total number of chimpanzees in Taï to be 4,507, with perhaps 292 in N'Zo and nearby reserves (however there is no doubt that such numbers have declined in the last 15 years).[citation needed] These chimpanzees are noted for using tools (DPN, 1998).
Also found in the park are two bats, Buettikofer's epauletted fruit bat and Aellen's roundleaf bat, Pel's flying squirrel, giant pangolin, tree pangolin and long-tailed pangolin, Liberian mongoose, African golden cat, leopard, red river hog, giant forest hog, water chevrotain, bongo, and African forest buffalo. African forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis) have also been observed within the park, although in 2001 they numbered only about 100 individuals in the south of the park compared to some 1,800 in 1979.
Taï National Park also hosts an exceptional diversity of forest duikers including Jentink's duiker, banded or zebra duiker, Maxwell's duiker, Ogilby's duiker, black duiker, bay duiker, yellow-backed duiker and the royal antelope. Forest rodents include the rusty-bellied brush-furred rat, the Edward's swamp rat and the woodland dormouse. Also recorded in the park is the Defua rat, which is characteristic of secondary forest.
The dwarf or pygmy hippopotamus (Hexaprotodon liberiensis) numbered at around 500 in the park in 1996, and it is one of the few viable populations remaining [citation needed].
Birds
The park lies within one of the world's
Reptiles and amphibians
Two crocodiles, the
Invertebrates
Local human population
The original tribes of the forest region were the
reasons, did not eat chimpanzees and thus preserved the chimpanzee populations. French influence dated from only the mid-19th century. Evidently, there was little settlement in the area before the late 1960s, when reservoir construction in the N'Zo valley and, later, drought in the Sahel, pushed people southwards. A population in the area of about 3,200 in 1971 had grown to 57,000 twenty years later. The park is now neighbored by 72 villages, and hundreds of illegal squatters live in the park.Of the three main groups of farmers, the rural
Scientific research and facilities
The park was the site of a
There is an ecological station (L'Institut d'Ecologie Tropicale) in the Audrenisrou basin in the core zone and a German team base at Fedfo camp in the buffer zone. There is also a Biosphere Reserve station 18 km south-east of Taï village, which consists of several prefabricated houses, a communal kitchen, two well-equipped laboratories, and an electric generator. It is controlled and financed nationally and managed by 2-3 Ivoirian personnel.
Between 1993 and 2002, the Project Autonome pour la Conservation du Parc National de Taï (PACPNT), financed by
See also
References
- ISBN 978-0-521-81633-5.
- ^ "Hexaprotodon liberiensis - Endangered". IUCN Red List of Endangered Species. Retrieved 14 March 2008.
- ^ "Pan troglodytes – Endangered". IUCN Red List of Endangered Species. Retrieved 14 March 2008.
- ^ "Advisory Body Evaluation" (PDF). UNESCO. Retrieved 14 March 2008.
- ^ Djangrang, Nimrod Bena (December 1996). "Tai National Park - Cote d'Ivoire, West Africa - Column". UNESCO Courier. Retrieved 26 February 2008.
- ^ French, Howard W. (24 November 1996). "Hunt for the Creature That Ebola Calls Home". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 March 2008.
- ^ ISBN 90-5113-020-1. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
- ISBN 187435720X.
- ^ Thiollay, J. (1985). "The birds of the Ivory Coast: status and distribution". Malimbus. 7: 1–59.
- JSTOR 1565925.
- ^ Frost, Darrel R. (2015). "Amietophrynus taiensis (Rödel and Ernst, 2000)". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
- ^ Frost, Darrel R. (2015). "Hyperolius nienokouensis Rödel, 1998". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
- ^ Gartshore, M.; Taylor, P.D.; Francis, I.S. (1995). Forest birds in Côted'Ivoire. A survey of Taï National Park and other forests and forestry plantations,1989–1991 (Report). BirdLife International (Cambridge, U.K.).
- ^ "Taï National Park". UNESCO World Heritage List. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
- Ake Assi, L. & Pfeffer, P. (1975). Inventaire Flore et Faune du Parc National de Taï. Abidjan. BDPA/SEPN
- Boesch, C. (1989). West African Oasis. WWF Report August/September, pp. 11–14.
- Budelman, A. & Zander, P. (1990). Land-use by immigrant Baoule farmers in the Tai region, southwest Ivory Coast. Agroforestry Systems 11(2): 101-124.
- Caspary, H-U.,Koné, I., Prouot, C. & De Pauw, M. (2001). La chasse et Lafilière Viande de Brousse dans l'Espace Taï, Côte D'Ivoire. *Tropenbos Côte d'Ivoire report.
- Collin, G. & Boureïma, A. (2006). Rapport de Mission Suivi de l'Etat de la Conservation du Parc National de Taï en Côte d'Ivoire, Site de Patrimoine Mondial. IUCN & UNESCO, Switzerland & Paris.
- Critical Ecosystems Partnership Fund (2000). Ecosystem Profile. Upper Guinean Forest Ecosystems of the Guinean Forest of West *African Biodiversity Hotspot. CI/ GEF/ Macarthur F'd'n/ WB/ Govt.of Japan. 47pp.
- Direction des Parcs Nationaux et Réserves (1998). Plan d'Amenagement du Parc National deTaï 1998- 2007. Ministry of Waters and Forests.
- Direction des Parcs Nationaux et Réserves (n.d.). Monographie des Parcs Nationaux et Reserves Naturelles de la Côte D'Ivoire.
- (2002). Project Autonome pour la Conservation du Parc National de Taï.
- Dosso, M.,Guillaumet, J. & Hadley, M. (1981). Taï Project: land use problems in a tropical rain forest. Ambio 10(2-3): 120-125.
- FGU-Kronberg, (1979). Etat actual des Parcs Nationaux de la Comoé et de Taï. Tome 3. Parc National de Taï. Deutsche Gesellschaft für *Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH., Abidjan. 155 pp.
- Girardin, O.,Koné, I. & Yao,T.(2000). Etat des recherches en cours dans le Parc National deTaï. Seminar Proceedings. Semperviva 9, *Centre Suisse des Recherches Scientifique, Abidjan. 199 pp.
- Guillaumet, J., Couturier, G. & Dosso, H. (1984). Recherche et Aménagement en Milieu Forestier Tropical Humide: Le Projet Taï de Côte d'Ivoire. UNESCO, Paris.
- Herbinger, I., Boesch, C., Tondossama, A. (2003). Côte d'Ivoire. In Kormos, R., Boesch, C., Bakarr, M.,Butynski, T. (eds.). West African Chimpanzees. Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. pp. 99–109.
- IUCN (2003). Report on the State of Conservation of Natural and Mixed Sites Inscribed on the World Heritage List. Gland, Switzerland
- (2002). Report on the State of Conservation of Natural and Mixed Sites Inscribed on the World Heritage List. Gland, Switzerland.
- (1985). Threatened natural areas, plants and animals of the world. Parks 10: 15-17.
- (1982). Rapport de Mission UICN/WWF/PARCS CANADA - Côte d'Ivoire (Parc National de Taï). IUCN, Gland.
- IUCN/WWF Project 3052. (1982a). Ivory Coast, Tropical Rainforest Campaign. WWF Yearbook 1983-1988. Gland, Switzerland
- IUCN/WWF Project 3207. (1982b). Development Plan for Taï National Park. WWF Yearbook 1983-1988. Gland, Switzerland
- Lauginie, F. (1975). Etude de Milieu Naturel et de l'Environnement Socio-economique du Parc National de Tai.
- Marchesi, P., Marchesi, N., Fruth, B. and Boesch, C. 1995. Census and distribution of chimpanzees om Cote D'Ivoire. Primates, 36, 591-607.
- Merz, G. & Steinhauer, B. (1984). Distribution and status of large mammals in Ivory Coast. 1. Introduction. Mammalia 48 (2): 207-226.
- Poorter, L.,Jans, L.,Bongers, F. & van Rompaey, R. (1994). Spatial distribution of gaps along three catenas in the moist forest of Tai National Park, Ivory Coast. Journal of Tropical Ecology 10(3): 385-398.
- Rahm, U. (1973). Propositions Pour la Création du Parc National Ivoirien de Taï. Morges, Switzerland: IUCN Occas. Paper No. 3.
- UNESCO World Heritage Committee (2003). Report on the 27th Session of the Committee. Paris.
- UNESCO/IUCN (2006). Rapport de Mission Suivi de l'Etat la Conservation du Parc National de Taï en Côte d'Ivoire, Site de Patrimoine Mondial. Paris. World Heritage Nomination submitted to UNESCO (1982).
- WWF (2005). Conservation and development of Tai National Park. Project details. WWF Newsheet.
External links
- World Heritage Site Data Sheet
- Official UNESCO website entry
- WWF-West Africa aids Côte d'Ivoire's Taï National Park
- World Database on Protected Areas
- Official Website (fr)
- The Living Africa - Tai National Park
- Further information on the current status of great apes within this park is available at the following link [1] Archived 2010-07-10 at the Wayback Machine .