National parks

National parks are considered as areas placed under public control, for the conservation of wildlife, where any anarchic exploitation is prohibited. The main parks identified are:

1- André-Félix National Park

It was the first national park, created after independence in 1960 with an area of ​​1,700 km². It is located in its north-eastern part, on the border with Sudan, on the outskirts of the vast Chadian basin.

Biogeographically, it is covered with Sudanian-type wooded savannahs with Isoberlinia, Terminalia and Bambousa . It has quite a rich and varied fauna. The main animal species found in this region today are elephants, lions, panthers, buffaloes, giraffes, crocodiles, ostriches, hippos and a large population of warthogs . At present, this set does not benefit from adequate protection due to a lack of means.

2- Manovo-Gounda Saint Floris National Park

National park created in 1974, it covers an area of ​​17,400 km² or 1,7440,000 ha. It is located east of Ndélé between the Manovo and Vakaga rivers. It partially borders Chad and its limits to the northeast are protected by a wildlife reserve network. It is also a savannah landscape very different from the forests and provided with teeming ponds and magnificent bird sanctuaries. These biological particularities led to the inclusion of this site on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

S'agissant des mammifères, c'est l'une des régions les plus riches du pays et voire d'Afrique Centrale pour ce qui est de la Faune Soudanienne. Le parc reste néanmoins un secteur très riche où subsistent encore certaines espèces parmi les plus rares : Panthères, Lycaon, Girafe, Eland de Derby, Guépard, Damalisque, Redunca etc. On trouve également d'espèces plus connues telles que : le cobe de Fassa et cobe de Buffon, hippotrague, guib harnaché, buffle, divers céphalophes etc. Parmi les nombreux primates répertoriés, on note la présence du Cercopithèque de Brazza et du Hocheur.

Indeed, the park is also the place of what is considered to be the highest concentration of hippos in the world: the pond of Gata, in its north-eastern part, shelters a population of this species regularly evaluated at several hundred heads. There is also a very rich avifauna, among which many species of waterfowl have been identified which frequent the ponds alongside white pelicans, ibis totalales, fabirus, marabous, egrets, herons, jacanas, hornbills, snake eagles, fish eagles which are abundant there, as are the vast majority of species representative of these environments.

Today, if the protection of this park is reinforced, it has enormous assets justifying its classification as a site among the most worthy of interest in terms of biodiversity on the continent. It is also a potential site of great importance for regional tourism.

Partners in cooperation : European Union, France, FAO and UNESCO

3. Bamingui-Bangoran National Park

It was the first park created in 1979 by the colonial administration to ensure the protection of black rhinos and covers an area of ​​10,700 km². Located in the north of the country, it partially borders Chad, a traditional point of infiltration for poachers. Mosaics of Sudano-Guinean savannas of dry forests and wooded savannahs, this park was famous a few decades ago. It is home to a great variety of species of large mammals not only from the Central African Republic but also from Central Africa, in particular: derby eland, bushbuck, fassa waterbuck, antelope, giraffe, hippos, panthers, elephants, cheetahs, damalisques . In addition to the species mentioned, the park still shelterslions, wild dogs, spotted hyena, buffalo, hartebeest, redunca, various duikers, ouribi, warthog, cynocephalus, patas, vervet, cercopithecus de Brazza etc.

The avifauna is relatively rich there. Pelicans are seasonally present, among the remarkable species, we note the spectacular and rare bee-in-hoof, the Arabian bustard, the jabiru as well as the various species of storks and Anatidae.  

Partners in cooperation : European Union.

4. Dzanga-Ndoki National Park

The Dzanga-Ndoki park was created in 1990, covers an area of ​​1,220 km². Its creation places it in the category of protected areas of the new generation. It is located in the extreme southwestern tip of the country in the dense forest zone of the Guinean-Congolese domain.

The mammals that can be identified in this area are species regularly encountered in dense forest such as: elephants, lowland gorillas, chimpanzees, several species of monkey, cercopithecus, and colobus, bongo, sitatunga, aquatic chevrotain, forest buffalo, forest hog, bush hog, golden cat, civet, several species of genets, etc.

The avifauna is also very rich and varied with, among the most remarkable species, the yellow-billed concal, the giant turaco, the Gabon parrot and various hornbills.

The management of this national park is created in accordance with Ordinance No. 84.045 of July 27, 1984 on the protection of wildlife and regulating the practice of hunting in the Central African Republic.

5- Avakaba Presidential Park

The Presidential Park was created in August 1968. It covers an area of ​​2,500 km² and is considered a private hunting reserve for Presidents and their guests. Located north of the Bamingui Bangoran National Park, it extends over the former MUAMERE-MIADIKI Wildlife Reserve. It is a region of gently undulating plains with Sudanian-type vegetation made up of a few dry forests, wooded savannahs, gallery forests, flooded pastures and permanent ponds in the dry season. The Fauna is similar to that of the Bamingui-Bangoran National Park.