Bia 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 Bia district in the Western Region of

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

. It is also a

biosphere reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

with a 563 square kilometer resource reserve. It has some of Ghana's last remnants of relatively untouched forest complete with its full diversity of wildlife. Some of the tallest trees left in West Africa are found in this national park. It constitutes a twin conservation area called the Bia National Park and the Bia Resource Reserve.

Geography

Bia National Park is located near the Ivorian border, the

Bia River The Bia is a river that is situated primarily in Ghana and flows through Ghana and Ivory Coast, emptying into Aby Lagoon. A hydroelectric dam was built across the Bia at Ayamé Ayamé is a town in south-eastern Ivory Coast, near the border of Gh ...

, and its tributaries flow into the Ivorian drainage area. It is found in the transitional zone between moist-evergreen and moist semi-deciduous forest types. Access to the park from

Kumasi Kumasi (historically spelled Comassie or Coomassie, usually spelled Kumase in Twi) is a city in the Ashanti Region, and is among the largest metropolitan areas in Ghana. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region near Lake Bosomtwe, and is the ...

is through

Bibiani Bibiani is a town and capital of the Bibiani/Anhwiaso/Bekwai Municipal Assembly, a Municipality within the Western North Region of Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It ab ...

, Sefwi Wiawso to Sefwi Asempanaye or

Goaso Goaso is a town and the capital of the newly created Ahafo Region of Ghana. Goaso doubles as the capital of Asunafo North Municipal District. It is located between three major towns; Mim, Kukuom and Hwidiem. Other surrounding towns include Ayum ...

through

Sankore Sankoré Madrasa (also called the University of Sankoré, or Sankore Masjid) is one of three ancient centers of learning located in Timbuktu, Mali. It is believed to be established by Mansa Musa, who was the ruler of the Mali Empire, though the S ...

to Sefwi Asempanaye. From

Sunyani Sunyani is a city and the capital town of the Bono Region and the Sunyani Municipal District, Sunyani Municipal of Ghana. Sunyani had a population of 74,24at the 2010 population and housing census. The city consists mainly of the Bonos by tribe ...

, it can be reached through

Berekum Berekum is a city and is the capital of Berekum Municipal in the Bono Region of Ghana. Berekum has a population of 62,364. The native language of the Berekum people is the Bono Twi. Towns Pepaase, Akroforo, Kotaa, Domeabra, Ampenkro, M ...

, Wanfi, Adabokrom and Debiso. From Côte d'Ivoire the park can be reached through Osei Kojokrom and Debiso.

History

Bia was created in 1935 and named after the Bia River which drains the area. It became an official national park in 1974.

Intensive farming Intensive agriculture, also known as intensive farming (as opposed to extensive farming), conventional, or industrial agriculture, is a type of agriculture, both of crop plants and of animals, with higher levels of input and output per unit of ag ...

destroyed much of the original vegetation in the park. However, since 1975, no human activities like farming or logging have taken place. In 1985 the park was named a biosphere reserve and a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

world heritage site.

Wildlife

There are about 62 species of mammals (including 10 primate species which are the Black-and-White colobus, the

olive colobus The olive colobus monkey (''Procolobus verus''), also known as the green colobus or Van Beneden's colobus, is a species of primate in the family Cercopithecidae. Its English name refers to its dull olive upperparts. It is the smallest example ...

red colobus Red colobuses are Old World monkeys of the genus ''Piliocolobus''. It was formerly considered a subgenus within the genus ''Procolobus'', which is now restricted to the olive colobus. They are closely related to the black-and-white colobus monke ...

monkeys and

chimpanzees 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 the ...

) known to live in the park, and over 189 bird species, including the endangered

white-breasted guinea fowl The white-breasted guineafowl (''Agelastes meleagrides'') is a medium-sized, up to 45 cm long, terrestrial bird of the guineafowl family. Description It has a black plumage with a small, bare, red head, white breast, long, black tail, gree ...

Black-collared lovebird The black-collared lovebird (''Agapornis swindernianus'') also known as Swindern's lovebird is a small, 13.5 cm (5 in) long, African parrot in the genus ''Agapornis''. It is a mostly green parrot with black band on the back of its neck ...

, Cassin’s hawk Eagle,

Honeyguide greenbul The honeyguide greenbul (''Baeopogon indicator'') is a species of songbird in the bulbul family, Pycnonotidae. It is widespread throughout the African tropical rainforest. Taxonomy and systematics The honeyguide greenbul was originally describ ...

Black-headed oriole The black-headed oriole (''Oriolus larvatus'') is a species of bird in the family Oriolidae. It is found in Africa and has a very striking appearance with a bright yellow body, contrasting black head and flesh-coloured beak. Taxonomy and sys ...

Brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model used ...

and Puvel’s illadopsis, Finch’s Flycatcher-Thrush,

Grey-headed Negrofinch The grey-headed nigrita (''Nigrita canicapillus'') is a common species of estrildid finch found in Africa. It has an estimated global extent of occurrence of 3,700,000 km2. It is widespread throughout the African tropical rainforest. The ...

Western nicator The western nicator (''Nicator chloris'') is a species of songbird in the family Nicatoridae. Description It is very similar to the eastern nicator The eastern nicator (''Nicator gularis'') is a species of songbird in the family Nicatoridae. ...

, Spotted greenbul, Grey-headed bristlebill,

Fire-bellied woodpecker The fire-bellied woodpecker (''Chloropicus pyrrhogaster'') is a species of bird in the family Picidae. It is found in Benin, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Togo and western Cameroon. A common species, the IUCN h ...

and Melancholy woodpecker). The park is also the only known home of the newly discovered species of lizard, ''

Agama africana ''Agama africana'' is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae. It is a small lizard found in Liberia, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Nigeria and Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. ...

''. Ghana's major protected forest antelope communities also live in the park. The

forest elephant The African forest elephant (''Loxodonta cyclotis'') is one of the two living African elephant species. It is native to humid forests in West Africa and the Congo Basin. It is the smallest of the three living elephant species, reaching a shoulde ...

and the bongo which is claimed to be highly threatened can be found there.

Climate Weather

Activities

Walking trails and roadd to thPark e reserve of the forest, where wild animals and birds can be spotted. Ecological stud es and snail picking are also undertake in the reserve. A cultural site called Apaso, i located in the park closer to two small pools and claimed to be a sacred place for visitors to sacrifice and give gifts to the gods.

Bibliography

;Notes ;References * - Total pages: 395 * - Total pages: 171 {{authority control National parks of Ghana Eastern Guinean forests