Wildlife of Burkina Faso

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Savanna, west of Ouagadougou, typical of the majority of the country's landscape.
Location of Burkina Faso

shea tree (Butyrospermum parkii) and the baobab, the former plant species has immense economic value to the country.[1][3]

To ensure conservation and preservation of the wildlife of Burkina Faso, four national parks have been established. These are the

Biosphere reserve, three complete reserves, six partial reserves and ten protected forests. However, according to conservation classification conducted between 1936 and 1957, the country has 78 protected areas that cover 38,369 km2 (14,814 sq mi), which accounts to about 14% of the area of the country.[5]

Geography

Landscape at Lalgaye
Arli National Park
The Mékrou River near Point Triple in the W National Park during the rainy season.

Wildlife area in the landlocked

western Africa is spread over a plateau area of 270,764 km2 (104,543 sq mi). The dominant habitat types are the grassy savanna in the north with transition to the varying thin forests in the south.[1]

Based on ecological characteristics and climatic conditions, the country is divided under three bio-climatic zones namely, the Sahelian Zone, the Sudanian Zone and the Sudano-Guinean Zone. The Sahelian Zone covers 25% of the area of the northern part of the country, which is further subdivided under the Sahelian and sub-Sahelian sectors. In the Sahelian sector, where the rainfall is only of the order of 400 millimetres (16 in), the vegetation is mostly of shrubs and wooded grassland or steppe. The sub-Sahelian sector represents the transition zone, receives an average annual rainfall of 400–600 millimetres (16–24 in) and represents the transition between the Sahelian and Sudanian bioclimatic zones. The vegetation in this sector has moist Sudan savanna vegetation in the river valleys, while the western half is largely inhabited by humans; most of the large trees in the northern half of the sector are reported to have vanished due to climate change. The Sudan Zone receives higher rainfall in the range of 600–1,000 millimetres (24–39 in) and is further subdivided into three sectors namely, the central plateau sector, the Mouhoun sector and the Pendjari–Mékrou sector and has widely varying vegetation depending on human occupation for agriculture and mostly savanna vegetation, predominantly wooded savanna. the Pendjari–Mékrou sector with its floodplains and many ephemeral rivers, is less populated by humans but has the largest population of mammals in the country; vultures and raptors are also reported. The Sudano-Guinean Zone in the southwest corner of the country is a humid zone with an annual rainfall in the range of 1,000–1,200 millimetres (39–47 in). It is heavily wooded with wooded savannas and gallery forests; it has the ambience of a park with its widespread vegetation of Khaya senegalensis, Daniellia oliveri and Isoberlinia forests, tall grasses and savanna vegetation is also a dominant feature. Its human population distribution is low but the wildlife population is the second largest in the country.[5]

The area is drained by many rivers, the most important of them being the

Nazinon), and the White Volta (Nakambé), which flow into Ghana on the south and form the Volta River.[1]

Climate

Rainy season (June to September) is one of the four seasons in Burkina Faso; the other three being, an intermediate season from September to mid November, the summer of harmattan season of the Sahara hot and stormy winds (mid February to mid June) and the dry and winter cool season from mid November to mid February. During the rainy season is when the shrubs and stunted trees flourish in the savanna in the northern region where rainfall incidence is about 10 inches and the rivers flow full with dense vegetation growing in the southern region of the country when the rainfall incidence is as high as 40 inches (1,000 mm).[1]

National Parks

There are four important

national parks in Burkina Faso namely, the Arli National Park existing since 1954, the Deux Balés National Park, Kaboré Tambi National Park and the W of the Niger National Park which is a trans-boundary park existing since 1957.[5]

Arli National Park

Main article: Arli National Park
Arli National Park

The

gallery forests in seasonally flooded areas, baobab Adansonia digitata trees near old village sites are some of the vegetation types found in the park.[5]

Deux Balés National Park

Main article: Deux Balés National Park

The Deux Balés National Park, is located in central eastern Burkina Faso, within

Black Volta River. It has an elevation range of 235–310 metres (771–1,017 ft). The park was first established in 1937 as the forêts classées des Deux Balés ('the Deux Balés Classified Forests') with an area of 610 km2 (240 sq mi).[6] In 2001, the largest number of elephants in West Africa were found in Deux Balés (together with Baporo Forest), estimated at four hundred of them.[7]

Kaboré Tambi National Park

Main article: Kaboré Tambi National Park
View of the Red Volta in Kaboré Tambi National Park

The Kaboré Tambi National Park is situated between

Nazinon River. It was founded in 1976 as Pô National Park or known as Parc National Kaboré Tambi (PNKT). The park has an area of 155,000 hectares (380,000 acres) in the alluvial floodplain on both banks of the ephemeral Volta Rouge River; the river results to small water holes during the summer season. A number of small marshes and lakes also dominate the scene.[8] It maintains contiguity with the Nazinga Game Ranch of 94,000 hectares (230,000 acres) area, the Sissili Hunting Concession of 32,700 hectares (81,000 acres) ha and the village hunting zones around Nazinga and Sissili villages. The park has varied topography with geological formations of granite outcrops, lateritic plateaus and several isolated high mountains. The vegetation types found here are northern Sudan savanna, shrub savanna, tree-savanna and gallery forests. The park is home to lion, elephant, buffalo and a number of antelope species. Poaching and deforestation activities are an issue in the park. The main road from Ouagadougou to Bolgatanga in northern Ghana runs across the park.[5][8]

W of the Niger National Park

Main article:
W of the Niger National Park
The Mékrou River in W National Park

The W of the Niger National Park was created in August 1954. It is a major national park of the three countries of Niger, Benin and Burkina Faso, and is governed by the three governments. It is around a

malarial zone of wetlands formed by the delta of the Mékrou River with the Niger, broken by rocky hills. It was declared a Ramsar site in 1990. A cattle route from Mail and Niger to Tago passes through the park creating conservation problems which are proposed to be tackled through many conservation and biodiversity support programmes.[5][9]

Fauna

As of 2006, Burkina Faso is considered to be one of the West African countries with the largest faunal population.[10]

Mammals

Main article: List of mammals of Burkina Faso

Mammals in Burkina Faso include

water chevrotain, western hartebeest, white-tailed mongoose and African wildcat.[citation needed
]

The

common chimpanzee is considered locally extinct in Burkina Faso, but may be migrating back into the country during the rainy season.[11] Hyena are widespread but at low densities.[12]

Reptiles

Sacred crocodiles of Bazoulé, Burkina Faso.

Three

Important Bird Areas
(IBAs) identified which cover 20260 km2 accounting for 7.4% area of the country.

Birds

Urocolius macrourus
, blue-naped mousebird
Main article: List of birds of Burkina Faso

In Burkina Faso, as of 2005, 497 bird species of various families, including 35

Passeridae, nineteen of Ploceidae, nineteen of Estrildidae and six of Viduidae.[14]

Ten Important Bird Areas (IBAs) which cover about 20,260 km2 (7,820 sq mi) (7.4% of the area of the country). These have Sudan–Guinea Savanna biome (A04) (with 30 of the 32 species of this biome), Sahel biome (A03) (with six of eight biome species) and with breeding colony of

Gallinago media (near threatened).[5]

Insects

Lepidoptera
Main article: List of moths of Burkina Faso

Flora

Niangoloko Forest
Main article: List of plants of Burkina Faso

The flora of Burkina Faso is composed of 2067 plant species.[2] The most important families in terms of species richness and abundance are the grasses (Poaceae) and legumes (Fabaceae).[15] Many species are distributed widely in the savannas regions of Africa. There are however two endemic plants, Pandanus brevifrugalis and Isoetes jaegeri.[2]

Approximately 15% of the country has forest cover while wooded land constitutes approximately 34% of the area. Very little closed forest can be found and this is mainly of the

onions, papaya, sorghum, tomatoes, and yams. Most of the country consists of sparse savanna grasslands, with the occasional shrub or acacia. Although the country only has about 15% forest cover overall, there are many forests in the south, growing denser along the banks of the perennial rivers.[1] These include Diéfoula Forest, Logoniégué Forest, Laba Forest, Dida Forest, Koulbi National Forest, Bontioli Reserve Forest, Nabere Partial Reserve Forest, Koflandé Forest, Maro Forest, Tui Forest, Deux Balés Forest, Kalio Forest, Tisse Forest, Dibon Forest, Pâ Forest, Mou Forest, Boulon Forest, Tigo Forest, Nakambe Forest and Niangoloko Forest
, of which about 16% have official protection.

Poverty means that deforestation is a problem in the country and each year the country loses approximately 32,000 hectares of forests, to make way for agriculture and for fuelwood, which around 90% of the national population are dependent upon.[16] Numerous NGOs are active in the country, educating farmers and encouraging them to minimize land clearing and plant trees as well as cultivate the land.

Shea nuts termed "women's gold" used to make shea butter, cosmetics and chocolates in Burkina Faso
Shea nut processing
by women in Burkina Faso

Trees of note include the

cowpeas (74,000 tonnes).[17] Between 1982 and 1985, an attempt was made to improve the Bambara groundnut, an initiative which involved the participation of plant breeders in the Grain Legumes Programme.[17]

The country contains populations of

Vitellaria paradoxa trees, which often have problems with parasites of the family Loranthaceae
. [18] Four species of Tapinanthus (Tapinanthus dodoneifolius, Tapinanthus globiferus, Tapinanthus ophiodes and Tapinanthus pentagonia) are widespread all across Burkina Faso and Mali and are also subject to being affected by pests.[18] Other trees include Acacia, flamboyant tree, Delonix regia, and neem tree.

Conservation

Fauna conservation areas were first established in 1926, which included five 'parcs de refuge' that covered 536,700 ha.[19]

colobus, dama gazelle, leopard and topi. This alarming situation of loss of biodiversity resulted in creation of national operational strategies not only for rural development in 2001 but also for reforms in the wildlife and protected area sector in 1995 (a Forestry Code was introduced defining the National Forestry Policy and establishing 12 Wildlife Conservation Units covering the entire country in followed in 1996) and Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan in 2000 with the objective stated as to "ensure responsible management of biological diversity by the populations by 2025".[8]

In conservation and sustainable resources management efforts, the IBA Local Conservation Group with help from BirdLife Partners around the world have set up "site support groups" in Burkina Faso, which was initially begun in 1959 to count birds. This resulted in the training of local volunteers as

List of Ramsar wetlands of international importance) and are yet to permeate to a national scale.[20]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Burkina Faso:Plants and animal life". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 24 April 2011.
  2. ^
    ISBN 978-2-8277-0081-3
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Wild Shea Tree Benifitting [sic] Burkina Faso: Women Engaged in Shea Sector Gain From Trade In 'Shea Butter'". Gender and Trade: Commonwealth Secretariat. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 24 April 2011.
  4. ISBN 978-92-5-104785-9
    . Retrieved 24 April 2011.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g "Burkina Faso" (PDF). BirdLife International. pp. 117–123. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 October 2012.
  6. ^ "Deux Balés National Park". UNEP-WCMC. Archived from the original on 5 November 2010.
  7. ^ Onishi, Norimitsu (10 May 2001). "Baporo Forest; A Stately Elephant Moment, a Bit Like an Elegy". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 April 2011.
  8. ^ a b c d "Burkina Faso: Partnership for Natural Ecosystem Management Program (PAGEN)" (PDF). Global Environment Facility. 2 May 2002. pp. 5–7, 57.
  9. ^ "W of the Niger National Park". parc-w.net. Archived from the original on 4 October 2011. Retrieved 28 April 2011.
  10. ^ International Monetary Fund; Burkina Faso. Ministry of Economy and Development (2005). Burkina Faso: Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper. International Monetary Fund. pp. 48–. GGKEY:WNFW0FHLYBH.
  11. ^
    ISBN 978-2-8317-0733-4
    .
  12. ISBN 978-2-8317-0442-5
    . Retrieved 25 April 2011.
  13. ISBN 978-2-8317-0060-1
    .
  14. ^ "Avibase – Bird Checklists of the World:Burkina Faso". Avibase-The world bird data base. Retrieved 24 April 2011.
  15. ^ Marco Schmidt: Pflanzenvielfalt in Burkina Faso. Analyse, Modellierung und Dokumentation. 2006
  16. ^ Sawadogo, Jean-Marie (October 1997). "Burkina Faso protects its fragile soils: Environmental sustainability is key to agricultural revival". Africa Recovery. 11 (2). United Nations: 20. Archived from the original on 8 November 2009. Retrieved 24 April 2011.
  17. ^
    ISBN 978-92-9043-299-9
    .
  18. ^
    ISBN 978-92-5-104376-9
    .
  19. ISBN 978-2-8317-0092-2
    .
  20. ^ "Twelve years of site support in Burkina Faso". Birdlife International. 29 January 2010. Archived from the original on 30 November 2010. Retrieved 25 April 2010.

External links

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