Sapo National Park

Sapo National Park
Map showing the location of Sapo National Park
Map showing the location of Sapo National Park
Location of Sapo National Park in Sinoe County (highlighted)
LocationSinoe County, Liberia
Nearest cityGreenville
Coordinates5°24′40.01″N 8°24′52.65″W / 5.4111139°N 8.4146250°W / 5.4111139; -8.4146250
Area1,804 km2 (697 sq mi)
Established1983
Governing bodyForestry Development Authority

Sapo National Park is a national park in Sinoe County, Liberia. It is the country's largest protected area of rainforest,[1] was the first national park established in the country,[2][3] and contains the second-largest area of primary tropical rainforest in West Africa after Taï National Park in neighbouring Côte d'Ivoire.[4] Agriculture, construction, fishing, hunting, human settlement, and logging are prohibited in the park.[5][6]

Sapo National Park is located in the Upper Guinean forest ecosystem,[7] a biodiversity hotspot that has "the highest mammal species diversity of any region in the world", according to Conservation International,[8][9] and in the Western Guinean lowland forests ecoregion, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature's ecoregions classification scheme.[10]

  1. ^ Outram, Quentin (2003). "Liberia". Africa South of the Sahara 2004. Europa Publications. pp. 611–18. ISBN 978-1-85743-183-4. Retrieved 2007-12-11.
  2. ^ Ransom, C.; Robinson, P.T.; Collen, B. (2015). "Choeropsis liberiensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T10032A18567171. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T10032A18567171.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  3. ^ Eltringham, S.K. (1993). "The Pygmy Hippopotamus (Hexaprotodon liberiensis)". In William L. R. Oliver (ed.). Pigs, Peccaries, and Hippos: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. Gland, Switzerland: World Conservation Union. pp. 55–60. ISBN 2-8317-0141-4. Archived from the original on 2007-10-14. Retrieved 2007-12-12.
  4. ^ Boesch, Christophe & Hedwige Boesch-Achermann (2000). The Chimpanzees of the Tai Forest: Behavioural Ecology and Evolution. Oxford University Press. p. 10. ISBN 978-0-19-850507-5. Retrieved 2007-12-11.
  5. ^ Streissguth, Tom (2006). Liberia in Pictures. Twenty-First Century Books. pp. 15. ISBN 978-0-8225-2465-6. Retrieved 2007-12-11. Sapo National Park.
  6. ^ Kahler, Peter (1999-03-29). "Liberia; Massive Logging and Hunting Worry Liberian Conservationist". Africa News. AllAfrica, Inc.
  7. ^ "Upper Guinea Forest Ecosystem". Conservation Priority-Setting Workshop. Retrieved 2007-12-11.
  8. ^ Powers, William (2005-01-10). "Seeing the Forest for the Peace". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-02-22.
  9. ^ "Guinean Forests of West Africa". Biodiversity Hotspots. Conservation International. Archived from the original on 2008-02-23. Retrieved 2008-02-22.
  10. ^ "Western Guinean lowland forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund. Retrieved 2008-06-04.