The Manovo-Gounda St Floris National Park (PNMGSF) is under strong pressure due to the combined effects of poaching, insecurity, regional transhumance, artisanal mining, as well as the absence of monitoring and management of the property from 2012 to 2018.
A joint UNESCO/IUCN reactive monitoring mission carried out in March 2019, concluded that it could not be excluded that the site’s Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) is irreversibly lost today, without being able to confirm it, or to decide on the possibility of its regeneration in the absence of an operational ecological monitoring and follow-up system.
1988
The Manovo-Gounda St Floris National Park (PNMGSF) was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1988 and the List of World Heritage in Danger since 1997.
Located in the northeast of the Central African Republic and more particularly in the region of Bamingui Bangoran, the PNMGSF is the largest savannah park in Central Africa covering 1,740,000 ha. The property encompasses all the watersheds of three large rivers (Manovo, Koumbala and Gounda) with grassy floodplains and wetlands.
Straddling two ecological zones, the property owes its importance to the richness of its flora and fauna. The park is home to a large number of endangered species, including the elephant, hippopotamus and red-fronted gazelle as well as large concentrations of herbivores.
Objectives
Based on the recommendations of the March 2019 mission
and Decision 43 COM 7A.5, this project essentially aims to:
Emergency strategy
Establish an emergency strategy to identify and secure a protection zone
Long-term safeguarding plan
Set up a long-term safeguarding plan with an aerial assessment, a bio-monitoring system and in compliance with existing transhumance agreements
Socio-economic conditions of local communities
Contribute to the improvement of the socio-economic conditions of local communities and improve their involvement in the management of the park
Progress made
- Strengthening of the teams on the ground to secure the core zone of the park (area of 3,947 km² around the base of Koumbala which is equivalent to 23% of the area of the park).
- Rehabilitation of more than 1,000 km of roads and surveillance trails.
- Rehabilitation of the Bamingui base.
- More than 25 aerial survey and assessment missions.
- Collection of bio-monitoring data on about 40 wildlife species.
- Training of operational staff on anti-poaching strategy, codes of conduct, Central African Republic wildlife management code, use of communication equipment and software, and first aid.
- Finalization of the law enforcement and wildlife protection strategy (2020-2024).
- Support to shea and honey processing micro-projects and revitalization of 3 local associations of management of village hunting areas (ALGEST-ZCV) in Bohou-Kpata, Idongo-Da-Bangoran and Manovo-Zamza.
- Sensitization of more than 300 people (local authorities, leaders of local associations and groups, and other resource persons who are members of communities bordering protected areas in the zone) on the fight against poaching and illegal fishing.
Patrols across the park
Operations center at Bamingui base
© UNESCO/WCS/C di Roma
Core zone of the Manovo-Gounda St Floris National Park around the base of Koumbala (dashed in yellow)
Sustainable development goals (SDGs) addressed by the project: 11.4 and 15.1
Partners
Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and
the State Party of the Central African Republic
This project is made possible thanks to the financial support of
the Norwegian government.
Central African Republic