IUCN Management Category II (National Park)

Biogeographical Province 3.04.04 (West African Woodland/savanna)

Geographical Location In the sub-préfecture of Diapago (Fada n'Gourma Province) in the extreme eastern corner of the country on the international borders with Benin and Niger. 12°00'N, 2°00'E.

Date and History of Establishment Declared a 'parc national' in 1937, but not decreed until a Decree dated 4 August 1954. The area had been classified as a réserve totale de faune a year earlier by Arrété No. 2606/SE/F (14 April 1953). First established as a 'parc de réfuge' in 1926, and named the Parc des cercles de Say et de Fada.

Area 235,000ha; part of the international W park complex shared with Benin (568,000ha) and Niger (220,000ha). Also contiguous to Kourtiagou Partial Faunal Reserve (51,000ha). The area of this park is often quoted in error as being larger, as the definition given in the 1953 legislation includes a piece of territory actually in Niger (Spinage and Souleymane, 1984).

Land Tenure Government

Altitude 230-373m

Physical Features The park comprises a peneplain in the upper Niger basin. It includes a stretch of the Mékrou River, which forms the international border with Benin. The river passes through a steep-sided, north-south orientated gorge with several areas of accelerated erosion. An interesting natural feature at the southern end of the gorge is the unusual rock formation of the Koudou Falls. The Atakora mountain range, which reaches an altitude of 344m, defines the southern limit of the park. The area has a varied geology, comprising Lower and Pre-Cambrian sandstone, quartzite, schists, and granites. The poorly developed soils overlay gravelly materials. There are also areas of tropical ferruginous, mineral to pseudo-gley hydromorphic soils and raw minerals.

Climate No information

Vegetation Open Soudanian savanna predominates in the north of the park, while Soudanian wooded savanna has developed in the south, characterised by Balanites aegyptiaca, Vitellaria paradoxa, Parkia biglobosa, Entada africana, Burkea africana, Terminalia avicennioides, Pterocarpus erinaceus, Detarium microcarpum, Piliostigma reticulatum, Sterculia tomentosa, Sclerocarya birrea, Afzelia africana, Maytenus senegalensis, Combretum spp., Acacia spp. The shrub-layer is characterised by Anogeissus leiocarpus, Daniellia oliveri, Khaya senegalensis, and Cassia sieberana. Gallery forest occurs along the rivers, comprising a thin cover of Ficus and other species, with a herb layer dominated by Schoenefeldia gracilis, Loudetia simplex, L. togoensis, and Hyparrhenia hirta.

Fauna Mammals include: lion Panthera leo, leopard P. pardus (T), cheetah Acinonyx jubatus (T) (unconfirmed), elephant Loxodonta africana (T), buffalo Syncerus caffer, waterbuck Kobus ellipsiprymnus, kob K. kob, Bohor reedbuck Redunca redunca, roan Hippotragus equinus, hartebeest Alcelaphus buselaphus, bushbuck Tragelaphus scriptus, topi Damaliscus lunatus, common duiker Sylvicapra grimmia, red-flanked duiker Cephalophus rufilatus, warthog Phacochoerus aethiopicus and olive baboon Papio anubis. Hippopotamus Hippopotamus amphibius, crocodile Crocodylus sp., and tortoise in well-watered areas.

Cultural Heritage No information

Local Human Population No information

Visitors and Visitor Facilities The area is fairly inaccesible, and there is a no adequate accommodation.

Scientific Research and Facilities FAO consultants carried out an aerial survey of the larger mammals in 1981.

None

Conservation Value No information

Conservation Management Ordinance No.77/041 of 11 November 1977 regulates the issue of permits and licences and taxation related to the exploitation of fauna.

No information

There are three surveillance posts, at La Tapoa, Kabougou and Kondio

Management Constraints Poaching and illicit removal of timber are continuing problems. The vegetation is degraded throughout the park.

Staff Five forestry agents and three trackers

Budget Salaries

Local Addresses

Direction des parcs nationaux

References

Bousquet, B. (1982). Résultes des inventaires à pied de la faune dans les parcs nationaux. Document de terrain No. 5 FO: UPV/78/008, FAO, Rome.

Bousquet, B. and Szaniawski, A. (1981). Résultats des inventaires aériens des grands mammiféres dans la région "Pendjari-Mékrou". Document de terrain No. 4. FO: DP/UPV/78/008 and DP/BEN/77/011, FAO, Ouagadougou.

Spinage, C.A. and Souleymane, T. (1984). Resumé des aires de faune protégées et propositions. FO: DP/UPV/82/008 Document de travail 3. FAO, Rome.

Urvoy, Y. (1929). Le Mékrou et le Double V. Bull. Com. Afrique Française. Fév: 135-140.

Date 1984