Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park (6084)
Congo, Africa
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: A1a, A1c, A1d, B1, C
Year of last assessment: 2023
National site name: Parc National de Nouabalé-Ndoki
Central coordinates: Latitude: 2.4947, Longitude: 16.5973
System: terrestrial, freshwater
Elevation (m): 360 to 580
Area of KBA (km2): 4203.55946
Protected area coverage (%): 99.98
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: The Nouabalé-Ndoki KBA is the National Park of the same name (NNNP). It was created in 1993 and covers more than 4,203 square kilometers of contiguous lowland rainforest in northern Republic of Congo. Its altitude ranges between 360 - 580 m above sea level. It is arguably the best example of an intact forest ecosystem remaining in the Congo Basin. The park has never been logged, contains no roads within its borders, and still protects wildlife populations deep within its interior that have had little or no contact with people. The forest is part of the larger Sangha Tri-National Forest Landscape that in July 2012 was listed as a World Heritage Site. The region is a stronghold for important populations of large mammals, including African Forest Elephants, Western Gorillas, and Chimpanzees. The park also contains forest clearings that offer a window into the lives of shy forest wildlife, creating fantastic opportunities for tourism development and conservation science. In 2023, the Djéké Triangle to the south-west of the park was added to the Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park, bringing the total surface area of the KBA to 4334 km2. The extension of the Djéké Triangle comes after more than 25 years of scientific research in the area and extensive consultation with communities to devise a management plan that benefits both them and the wildlife.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site is one of the flagships of Congolese conservation. It is triggered as a KBA by Western Gorilla (CR, A1a and A1c), Chimpanzee (EN, A1a and A1c), African Forest Elephant (CR, A1a and A1c), Giant Ground angolin (EN, A1c), African Grey Parrot (EN, A1c), Oustalet's Red Colobus (VU, A1d), Grey-cheeked Mangabey (VU, A1d) and Slender-snouted Crocodile (CR; A1c), Ebony (Diospyros crassiflora VU, A1d) and the range-restricted Kongana Shrew (B1).
The site is extremely ecologically intact, and has little or no human impact. There have been no settlements, roads, or agriculture for roughly the last 1000 years; the density of large animals targeted by ivory poachers (African forest elephant) and hunters (the two great ape species) is high-ranking. The site has 100% integrity of its forest cover and the whole site qualifies as intact structurally, functionally, and in terms of its composition. Analysis shows that it qualifies as a Criterion C site.
Additional biodiversity: Habitat unmodified by humans for roughly 1000 years, and a highly intact fauna (for this reason the site was designated as the Congolese sector of the Sangha Trinational World Heritage Site in 2012 by UNESCO. See https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1380/). There are several large, important "bais" (mineral-rich clearings) along the rivers within the Park, which are greatly favoured by ungulates and elephants, who come to extract salt from the substrate, and by gorillas, which consume the digestible forage offered by the herbaceous vegetation within them (mainly grasses, Cyperaceae, and some dicotyledenous herbs).
Manageability of the site: The site is currently managed by the Nouabalé-Ndoki Foundation (NNF) in a partnership between WCS and the Government of the Republic of Congo.
Supersedes another site: The area is a little larger than the former KBA because an area formerly in a neighbouring logging concession (the "Djeke Triangle") was added to the National Park (in February 2023).
Delineation rationale: The KBA delineation follows the Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park limits. These limits are approved by the MEF (Ministry of Forest Economy, Government of Congo)- the limits were revised by a partnership between MEF and WRI (World Resources Institute) in the mid- 2010s to improve their alignment with rivers and other geographical features, and to refine the edges (which were previously somewhat "blocky"). An area formerly in a neighbouring logging concession (the "Djeke Triangle") was been added to the National Park (in February 2023).
The western limit of the Park starts at the confluence of the Ndoki and the Goualogou Rivers and follows the Ndoki north until its confluence with the Djeke river, which it then follows until the international frontier with Central African Republic. It then follows this border northeast until it hits the Lopio River, and then turns east and follows that until it flows into the Mokala River, and then follows that until the latter's confluence with the Motaba, and then shortly after that turns south and follows an unnamed river and a watershed down to to, and along, a long marsh forest until the latitude 2 degrees 12 minutes (2.2 decimal degrees) until it reaches the Goualaogo River and then runs southwest until the Ndoki again.
NB: The shapefile of this KBA has been slightly modified in its western part to follow the border boundary of the GADM (Global Administrative Areas). It does not call into question the shapefile of the official boundaries of this park as defined in its decree of creation.
Habitats
Summary of habitats in KBA: This site is entirely covered by lowland tropical forest (Ecoregion: Northwest Congolian lowland forests). Three main types of forest occur here: mixed terra firma forest, monodominant Gilbertiodendron dewevrei forest (both (IUCN habitat type 1.6. Forest – Subtropical/tropical moist lowland), and swamp forest (1.8. Forest – Subtropical/tropical swamp). Starting at the bed of the watercourses and moving outwards, the vegetation sucession is swamp forest, then Gilbertiodendron forest, and then, between the rivers, either mixed terra firma forest or more Gilbertiodendron forest. Roughly 30% of the site is covered by Gilbertiodendron forest and about 65% by terra firma forest, with a small percentage - perhaps 4% -covered by the swamp forests.The rest- about 1% - is covered by permanent and seasonal watercourses ((IUCN habitat types 5.1. Wetlands (inland) – Permanent rivers/streams/creeks (includes waterfalls) and 5.2. Wetlands (inland) – Seasonal/intermittent/irregular rivers/streams/creeks).
To date 244 woody species have been recorded, although there are likely more to identify, as there are 600 tree species from Northern Congo.
Of particular interest within the site are several large forest clearings which, although they cover a very small percentage of the surface area of this KBA, are of high importance for large mammals. Some of these clearings are swampy, and filled with sedges and aquatic herbs; others are sandy. Both types attract large mammals of the site, notably western lowland gorillas, forest elephants, forest buffalo and sitatunga, which use the clearings for foraging and for social interactions.
Land use: Protected area (full protection) with a Public-Private Partnership between MEF (Government: Ministry of Forest Economy) and Wildlife Conservation Society
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Wetlands(Inland) | 1 | Wetlands (inland) – Seasonal/intermittent/irregular rivers/streams/creeks |
| Forest | 4 | Forest – Subtropical/tropical swamp |
| Forest | 95 | Forest – Subtropical/tropical moist lowland |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: Some hunting for bushmeat, and some elephant poaching (for ivory) occurs in this KBA. However, the site is well protected by law enforcement agents and this has reduced both types of hunting to very low levels in the last couple of decades. Bushmeat hunting was never a severe pressure at this site because of its remoteness from access (navigable rivers and roads) but if protection measures are removed, this will slowly change as the network of roads within the surrounding forestry domain has increased from almost zero in the 1990s to active logging roads today. However, most of this KBA is surrounded (in Congo) by FSC -certified concessions where hunting /poaching is very strictly controlled.
Small scale fishing remains a pressure along the main river of Ndoki that forms part of the western limit of this KBA, but not elsewhere (again due to remoteness from access and villages).
In the future, the main road running from the regional capital of Ouesso, which passes to the east of this KBA, may cause issues if it is not controlled. It carries public vehicles to northeastern Congo.
| Threat level 1 | Threat level 2 | Threat level 3 | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transportation & service corridors | Roads & railroads | Only in the future | |
| Biological resource use | Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources | Intentional use: subsistence/small scale (species being assessed is the target) [harvest] | Ongoing |
| Biological resource use | Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals | Intentional use (species being assessed is the target) | Ongoing |
Additional information
References: The site has a website:
https://ndoki.org/en-us/
Contributors: The experts who examined the data for this site are the following:
Freshwater fish: Victor Mamonekene (Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Agronomie et de Foresterie, Brazzaville, Congo);
Herps and killifish: Laurent Chirio (Brazzaville French School);
Larger Mammals: Fiona Maisels WCS);
Small mammals: Terrence Demos (Chicago Field Museum of Natural History); Julian Kerbis (Chicago Field Museum of Natural History/ Roosevelt University); Rainer Hutterer (Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change, Bonn Koenig Museum);
Birds: Jerome Mokoko; Hugo Rainey (WCS and The Biodiversity Consultancy);
Plants: Sydney Ndolo Ebika (Marien Ngouabi University, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo); Nicolas Texier (Missouri Botanical Gardens and ULB Brussels)