Assagny National Park or Azagny National Park is a

national park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

in the south of

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

. It is situated on the coast some to the west of

Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N’ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the economic capital of the Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of overall population of the country, ...

, between the mouth of the

Bandama River The Bandama River is the longest river in Ivory Coast with a length of some 800 kilometers. The south-flowing river is fed by the Marahoué, Solomougou, Kan and Nzi rivers and empties into the Tagba Lagoon and the Gulf of Guinea. The Bandama flo ...

and the Ébrié Lagoon, and occupies an area of about .

Description

Assagny National Park is located in Ivory Coast adjoining the

Gulf of Guinea The Gulf of Guinea is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez in Gabon, north and west to Cape Palmas in Liberia. The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian (zero degrees latitude and longitude) is in the ...

. To the west lies the

and to the east the Ébrié Lagoon, the park being traversed by the navigable Asagni Canal which connects the two. The park is surrounded by slightly higher ground and consists of a broad, often waterlogged, basin in which the water level fluctuates. The climate here is wet all year round, with an average rainfall of . About two thirds of the park consists of swamps dominated by mangroves and there is additionally some moist forest and coastal savanna. The park has potential for tourism.

Flora

The primary forest is dominated by '' Nauclea diderrichii'', ''

Berlinia occidentalis ''Berlinia occidentalis'' is a species of plant in the family Fabaceae. It is found in Ivory Coast, Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. A medium-sized tree very similar to ''Berlinia bracteosa ''Berlinia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the f ...

'', ''

Strombosia pustulata ''Strombosia pustulata'' is a species of tree in the family Olacaceae ( in APG IV). It is native to the rainforests of tropical West and Central Africa. Common names for this tree include ''itako'' in Nigeria, ''afina'' in Ghana, ''poé'' in Ab� ...

'', ''

Scottellia klaineana ''Scottellia klaineana'' is a species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which ...

'', ''

Lovoa trichilioides ''Lovoa trichilioides'', also called African walnut, Congowood, dibetou or tigerwood, is a species of plant in the family Meliaceae. It is found in Angola, Cameroon, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Ga ...

'', ''

Gilbertiodendron preussii ''Gilbertiodendron preussii'' is a species of tree in the family Fabaceae The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,Discoglypremna caloneura'', ''

Parinari excelsa ''Parinari excelsa'', the Guinea plum, is a species of large, evergreen tree in the family Chrysobalanaceae. It has a very wide distribution in tropical Africa and South America. This species grows to tall while the trunk is up to in diameter. ...

'', ''

Guarea cedrata ''Guarea cedrata'', also called light bossé or scented guarea, is a species of plant in the family Meliaceae. It is found in Cameroon, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra ...

'', ''

Nesogordonia papaverifera ''Nesogordonia papaverifera'' is a species of flowering plant. Traditionally included in the family Sterculiaceae, it is included in the expanded Malvaceae in the APG and most subsequent systematics. It is found in Benin, Cameroon, Central Afri ...

'', ''

Erythrophleum ivorense ''Erythrophleum ivorense'' is a species of leguminous tree in the genus ''Erythrophleum'' found in the rainforests of tropical West and Central Africa. The tree has many uses; the timber is used for heavy construction, for making charcoal and for ...

'', ''

Tieghemella heckelii ''Tieghemella heckelii'' (also called baku or cherry mahogany) is a tree species of the genus ''Tieghemella'' in the plant family Sapotaceae. The species occurs in Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig ...

'', '' Klainedoxa gabonensis'', ''

Lannea welwitschii ''Lannea welwitschii'' is a species of tree in the family Anacardiaceae. It is native to the tropical rainforests of West and Central Africa. The timber is used to make furniture and utensils and for many other purposes, the fruits can be eaten, ...

'' and ''

Heritiera utilis ''Heritiera utilis'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae (or Sterculiaceae). It is found in Ivory Coast, Gabon, Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. It is threatened by habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat ...

''. The main trees present in the swamps are ''

Rhizophora racemosa ''Rhizophora racemosa'' is a species of mangrove tree in the family Rhizophoraceae. It has a patchy distribution on the Pacific coast of Central and South America, occurs in places on the Atlantic coast of that continent, and has a more widesprea ...

'' and '' Avicennia germinans'', along with many palms including ''

Phoenix reclinata ''Phoenix reclinata'' (''reclinata'' - Latin, reclining), the wild date palm, Arabian date palm or Senegal date palm, is a species of flowering plant in the palm family native to tropical Africa, the Levant, the Arabian Peninsula, Madagascar and ...

'', '' Borassus aethiopum'' and '' Raphia'', as well as a variety of swamp vegetation including ''

Echinochloa pyramidalis ''Echinochloa pyramidalis'' is a species of large grass, occurring naturally in flooded regions and beside lakes in tropical Africa and America, and introduced to various other countries. It is commonly known as antelope grass. Description ''Ec ...

''. The savanna areas are mostly covered with the grass ''

Imperata cylindrica ''Imperata cylindrica'' (commonly known as cogongrass or kunai grass ) is a species of Perennial plant, perennial rhizomatous grass native to tropical and subtropical Asia, Micronesia, Melanesia, Australia, Africa, and southern Europe. It has al ...

''.

Fauna

There are

elephants Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae and ...

chimpanzee The chimpanzee (''Pan troglodytes''), also known as simply the chimp, is a species of great ape native to the forest and savannah of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed subspecies. When its close relative th ...

s and many species of

monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incomple ...

in the forests, as well as bushpigs and African forest buffalos. All three species of West African crocodile occur here, ''

Crocodylus niloticus ''Crocodylus'' is a genus of true crocodiles in the family Crocodylidae. Taxonomy The generic name, ''Crocodylus'', was proposed by Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti in 1768. ''Crocodylus'' contains 13–14 extant (living) species and 5 extinct species ...

'', ''

Crocodylus palustris The mugger crocodile (''Crocodylus palustris'') is a medium-sized broad- snouted crocodile, also known as mugger and marsh crocodile. It is native to freshwater habitats from southern Iran to the Indian subcontinent, where it inhabits marshes ...

'' and '' Crocodylus cataphractus'', but in low numbers and the

African manatee The African manatee (''Trichechus senegalensis''), also known as the West African manatee, is a species of manatee that inhabits much of the western region of Africa – from Senegal to Angola. It is the only manatee species to be found in the ...

occurs in the Ébrié Lagoon. An attempt to increase the number of bay duikers in the park was unsuccessful because of

predation Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill the ...

by pythons. The park is an important habitat for wetland birds and was recognized as such when it became a

Ramsar site A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **

cattle egret The cattle egret (''Bubulcus ibis'') is a cosmopolitan species of heron (family Ardeidae) found in the tropics, subtropics, and warm-temperate zones. It is the only member of the monotypic genus ''Bubulcus'', although some authorities regard it ...

, the little egret, the

grey heron The grey heron (''Ardea cinerea'') is a long-legged wading bird of the heron family, Ardeidae, native throughout temperate Europe and Asia and also parts of Africa. It is resident in much of its range, but some populations from the more northern ...

, the

black-crowned night heron The black-crowned night heron (''Nycticorax nycticorax''), or black-capped night heron, commonly shortened to just night heron in Eurasia, is a medium-sized heron found throughout a large part of the world, including parts of Europe, Asia, and N ...

and the

peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (Bird of prey, raptor) in the family (biology), family Falco ...

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

recognize the park as being an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

References

{{authority control National parks of Ivory Coast Protected areas established in 1981 Ramsar sites in Ivory Coast Grands-Ponts