Congo (Democratic Republic)
Salonga National Park
Salonga National Park is Africa's largest tropical rainforest reserve.
It is a very isolated park, located in the central basin of the Congo River and crossed by many rivers. The park can only be reached via water transport, and in parts is considered to be completely virgin. Its marshlands and forests are home to many endangered fauna species, notably the bonobo.
Community Perspective: this site has been unreviewed so far.
Site Info
Official Information
- Full Name
- Salonga National Park (ID: 280)
- Country
- Congo (Democratic Republic)
- Status
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Inscribed 1984
Site history
History of Salonga National Park
- 1984: Inscribed
- Inscribed
- 1999: In Danger
- Poaching and illegal encroachments
- 2007: Reinforced Monitoring
- 2021: Removed from Danger list
- Unanimously after amendment by Mali due to positive progress including oil rights that have become null and void.
- WHS Type
- Natural
- Criteria
- vii
- ix
Links
- UNESCO
- whc.unesco.org
All Links
UNESCO.org
- whc.unesco.org — whc.unesco.org/
Related Resources
- africanworldheritagesites.org — African World Heritage Sites
- congo-autrement.com — Congo Autrement
News Article
- May 5, 2018 independent.co.uk — Democratic Republic of Congo plans to allow oil exploration in national parks home to endangered mountain gorillas
Community Information
- Community Category
- Natural landscape: Forest
Travel Information
Red Zone Travel Advisory
DRC fully off-limits
One thousand visitors or fewer
DD: “There are currently no tourism activities in Salonga National Park.” (IUCN Outlook 2020”
Recent Connections
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Perfect Inscriptions
1984 -
Honey Collection
"Management problems include poaching u… -
Red Zone Travel Advisory
DRC fully off-limits
Connections of Salonga National Park
- Geography
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Congo River Basin
Located at the central basin of the Congo river
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- Ecology
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Rainforests
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Chimpanzee habitat
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Crocodiles
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Elephants
African elephant (forest elephant) -
Hippos
"Other mammals in the park include .. hippopotamus" (wiki)See en.wikipedia.org
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Strepsirrhini
brown greter galago, Mohol bushbaby -
High-Biodiversity Wilderness Area
Congo Basin -
Swamps and Marshes
"it comprises vast marshland areas" (OUV)
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- Damaged
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Poaching
Poaching for ivory and bushmeat commerce (involving the majority of vertebrate species) has been very intense in past years
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- World Heritage Process
- Human Activity
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Natural sites with indigenous human population
"A group of less than 1,000 Ediki lives in Yaelima, Dekese zone, in the centre of the park" (AB ev) -
Honey Collection
"Management problems include poaching using both traditional and modern methods, local population pressure, fire and destruction of habitat by tree cutting for firewood and by honey gatherers." (AB ev)
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- WHS on Other Lists
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World Heritage Forest Programme
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WWF Global 200
Terrestrial, Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests: (5) Central Congo Basin Moist Forests (subregion Central Congolian lowland forests)See web.archive.org
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IUCN Conservation Outlook Assessment Critical
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Centres of Plant Diversity
Af30 Salonga NP - "The plant and animal life in Salonga National Park constitute an example of biological evolution and the adaptation of life forms in a complex equatorial rainforest environment. "
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- Timeline
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Early Pleistocene
"Along with the common chimpanzee, the bonobo is the closest extant relative to humans. Because the two species are not proficient swimmers, the formation of the Congo River 1.5–2 million years ago possibly led to the speciation of the bonobo. Bonobos live south of the river, and thereby were separated from the ancestors of the common chimpanzee, which live north of the river" and (also Wiki) "DNA evidence suggests the bonobo and common chimpanzee species effectively separated from each other fewer than one million years ago".
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- Visiting conditions
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Red Zone Travel Advisory
DRC fully off-limits -
One thousand visitors or fewer
DD: “There are currently no tourism activities in Salonga National Park.” (IUCN Outlook 2020” -
No road access
"the park is very isolated and accessible only by water"See whc.unesco.org
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- WHS Names
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Named after a River
"The Salonga River meanders in a generally northwest direction through the Salonga National Park to its confluence with the Busira River"See en.wikipedia.org
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News
- independent.co.uk 05/05/2018
- Democratic Republic of Congo plans…
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