Congo (Democratic Republic)

Salonga National Park

WHS Score 0.0
rate
Votes 0
Show votes
Votes for 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
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
Related Resources
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
Red Zone Travel Advisory
DRC fully off-limits
One thousand visitors or fewer
One thousand visitors or fewer
DD: “There are currently no tourism activities in Salonga National Park.” (IUCN Outlook 2020”
Recent Connections
View all (23) .
Connections of Salonga National Park
Geography
Ecology
Damaged
  • Poaching
    Poaching for ivory and bushmeat commerce (involving the majority of vertebrate species) has been very intense in past years
World Heritage Process
Human Activity
  • 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)
WHS on Other Lists
Timeline
  • 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".
Visiting conditions
WHS Names
  • 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

News
independent.co.uk 05/05/2018
Democratic Republic of Congo plans…
Recent Visitors
Visitors of Salonga National Park
Reserved for members.

Community Reviews

No reviews yet. If you have visited, write one!