UNESCO - MAB Biosphere Reserves Directory

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			Biosphere Reserve Information
			Senegal NIOKOLO-KOBA


	General Description		Situated in southeastern Senegal, Niokolo-Koba Biosphere Reserve straddles the border between the administrative regions of Senegal-Oriental and La Casamance, on the Gambia River and covers an area of 913,000 hectares. It is situated adjacent to the Badiar Biosphere Reserve in Guinea. Habitats include herbaceous savanna dominated by Andropogon gayanus, seasonally flooded grassland and dry forest, areas with bamboo, freshwater wetlands and gallery forests. Niokolo Koba Biosphere Reserve provides habitat for the Derby eland (Taurotragus derbianus, the largest of the antelopes), elephants, chimpanzees, lions as well as many birds, reptiles and amphibians. Rural communities surround the Niokolo Koba Park and form the transition area of the biosphere reserve. Here, major land uses are agriculture, pastoralism, honey gathering and craft activities. Some tourism also provides jobs for local people. A forest school has been established to train Senegalese and Guinean park rangers. The Niokolo Koba Biosphere reserve participates in the UNESCO-MAB/UNEP-GEF regional project on ‘Building Scientific and Technical Capacity for Effective Management and Sustainable Use of Dryland biodiversity in West African Biosphere Reserves’. Scientific and technical cooperation is very active with the Badiar Biosphere Reserve in Guinea.
	Major ecosystem type		Tropical dry or deciduous forests including freshwater wetlands
	Major habitats & land cover types		Herbaceous savanna dominated by Andropogon gayanus, occasionally associated with Panicum anabaptistum; seasonally flooded grassland composed of Paspalum orbiculare and Echinochloa sp.; dry forest characterized by Piliostigma thonningii, Pterocarpus erinaceus, Pericopsis africana etc.; valleys and plains with Vetiveria spp.; areas with bamboo (Oxytenanthera abyssinica); river banks with Rotula aquatica, Hygrophila odora sp., Cyperus baikiei; freshwater wetlands; ravines and gallery forests with Raphia sudanica, Baissea multiflora and Nauclea latifolia.
	Location		12°30' to 13°20'N; 12°20' to 13°35'W
	Area (hectares)
	Total		913,000
	Core area(s)
	Buffer zone(s)
	Transition area(s) when given
	Altitude (metres above sea level)		+16 to + 311
	Year designated		1981
	Administrative authorities		Parc National du Niokolo-Koba La Direction des Parcs Nationaux

	Brief description		Meteorology Fauna Primates Management and restoration of natural ecosystems with controlled burning to preserve savanna areas
	*Specific variables...*
	Abiotic		Meteorology.
	Biodiversity		Fauna, fires/fire ecology, mammals, restoration/rehabilitation/redevelopment, tropical grassland and savanna systems.
	Socio-economic		n.a.
	Integrated monitoring		Management issues.

	Contact address		Samuel Dieme Commandant, Conservateur de la RB du Niokolo Koba Direction des Parcs Nationaux, BP 5135 Dakar-Fann Senegal
	Telephone		(221) 77 577 73 98
	Fax		(221)9811097
	E-mail		sam_casa@yahoo.fr dpn@orange.snfr

Last updated: 23/10/2007