Waza National Park

Waza National Park
French: Parc National de Waza
Elephants in Waza National Park
Map showing the location of Waza National Park
Map showing the location of Waza National Park
LocationFar North Province, Cameroon
Coordinates11°20′N 14°44′E / 11.333°N 14.733°E / 11.333; 14.733
Area1,700 km2 (660 sq mi)
Established1934
Governing bodyCameroon Ministry of Environment and the Protection of Nature

Waza National Park is a national park in the Department of Logone-et-Chari, in Far North Region, Cameroon.[1] It was founded in 1934 as a hunting reserve, and covers a total of 1,700 km2 (660 sq mi).[2] Waza achieved national park status in 1968, and became a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 1979.[3]

For the preservation and conservation of the biodiversity of the park, a Management Master Plan was drawn up in 1997, reported to be the first of its kind in Cameroon.[1] The park is adjacent to the Chingurmi-Duguma sector of Nigeria's Chad Basin National Park.[4] There is also a proposal to combine this park with the Waza Logone floodplain as a Ramsar Site.[3] The forest dwellers who had their villages within the park were resettled on the borders of the park, after it was established. This was done with the objective of creating a social buffer to poaching activities and preserve the park's resources.[5]

The dominant vegetation is in the transition zone between the Sahel and Sudan savanna, containing acacia and open Yaéré savannah forests.[3][6] The prominent faunal species reported to inhabit the park are the lion, African bush elephant, hyena, hartebeest, roan antelope, Kob, waterbuck, reed, gazelle, Sudan cheetah and West African giraffe. The avifauna reported are geese, egrets, North African ostriches, herons, pelicans, saddle-billed storks and ibis.[7]

  1. ^ a b MacAllister, Mark. "June 2005 Waza Anti-Poaching Report". Field Trip Earth. North Carolina Zoological Society. Archived from the original on 2006-09-27. Retrieved 2007-01-28.
  2. ^ "World Conservation Monitoring Centre". 1983. Retrieved 2007-01-28.
  3. ^ a b c "Waza National Park (Important Birds Areas of Cameroon)". World Bird Database. BirdLife International. 2005. Retrieved 2007-01-28.
  4. ^ "Chad Basin National Park". Nigeria National Park Service. Retrieved 2010-11-03.
  5. ^ "Threat of a lion population extinction in Waza National Park, North Cameroon" (PDF). Leofoundation.org. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
  6. ^ Riley, Laura; Riley, William (2005). Nature's Strongholds: The World's Great Wildlife Reserves. Princeton University Press. pp. 39–. ISBN 978-0-691-12219-9. Retrieved 7 February 2013.
  7. ^ "Waza National Park". Official web site of the Ministry of Tourism. Retrieved 21 February 2013.