The Chad Basin National Park is a
national park
A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual ...
in northeastern
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
, in the
Chad Basin, with a total area of about 2,258 km
2.
The park is fragmented, with three sectors.
The Chingurmi-Duguma sector is in
Borno State, in a
Sudanian Savanna ecological zone.
The Bade-Nguru Wetlands and Bulatura sectors are in
Yobe State
Yobe is a state located in northeastern Nigeria. A mainly agricultural state, it was created on 27 August 1991. Yobe State was carved out of Borno State. The capital of Yobe State is Damaturu; and it's largest and most populated city is Poti ...
in the
Sahel ecological zone.
[
]
History
Chad Basin National Park lies within the former Kanem-Bornu Empire, which existed from the 9th century to the end of the 19th century and remains part of present-day Borno and Yobo states. Before the 10th century, the Empire was established and was one of the most politically well-organised African empires
African empires is an umbrella term used in African studies to refer to a number of pre-colonial African kingdoms in Africa with multinational structures incorporating various populations and polities into a single entity, usually through conque ...
tantamount to the Mali
Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mal ...
and Songhai empires. The then Borno Empire developed within the Conventional Basin of Lake Chad, where the Chad Basin National Park stands.
Status
The park combines the former Chingurmi-Dugoma Game Reserve, Gorgoram and Zurgun Baneri Forest Reserves, and Bulature Oasis.
As of 1999 it had not been surveyed, so the boundaries are not well-established.
The park is used by many farmers, grazers and fishermen.[
Despite significant investment in lodgings for tourists, the park sectors only attract a few hundred visitors each year due to the lack of spectacular wildlife.][
By 2008, staff at the park office in ]Maiduguri
Maiduguri is the capital and the largest city of Borno State in north-eastern Nigeria. The city sits along the seasonal Ngadda River which disappears into the ''Firki'' swamps in the areas around Lake Chad. Maiduguri was founded in 1907 as a mil ...
knew little about the park, the lodgings had been abandoned, and tourists visiting the park sectors had to take off-road vehicles and be prepared to camp out.[
Due to insecurity in the region, the National Parks Service temporarily suspended operations and research in the Chad Basin National Park in 2021; operations were also suspended in the ]Kainji National Park
Kainji National Park is a national park in Niger State and Kwara State, Nigeria. Established in 1978, it covers an area of about .
The park includes three distinct sectors: a part of the Kainji Lake in which fishing is restricted, the Borgu G ...
and the Kamuku National Park.
Chingurmi-Duguma sector
The Chingurmi-Duguma sector is in the Bama
Bama or BAMA may refer to:
Places
* Bama, shortened form of Alabama, a state of the United States of America
** The University of Alabama, the public university serving the state, often known as simply ''Bama''
* Bama, one of the colloquial Burm ...
Local Government Area of Borno State, adjoining the Waza National Park
Waza National Park is a national park in the Department of Logone-et-Chari, in Far North Region, Cameroon. It was founded in 1934 as a hunting reserve, and covers a total of . Waza achieved national park status in 1968, and became a UNESCO bio ...
in the Republic of Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the ...
, around coordinates .
It has an area of 1,228 km2, with a stratified topology.
The northern part is within the Sahel zone while southern sector has a typical Sudan–Guinea savanna ecology, and includes '' Acacia''-'' Balanites'' woodlands separated by dense stands of elephant grass The term Elephant grass may refer to the following grass species:
* The Asian '' Miscanthus giganteus'', also known as giant miscanthus, commonly used as a biomass crop
* The African '' Cenchrus purpureus'', also known as Napier grass, Uganda grass ...
and sorghum.[
Waters from the Dorma river flood much of the sector in the rainy season, creating flood-plain wetlands that attract waterbirds and other wildlife.
The resident black crowned crane ('']Balearica pavonina
The black crowned crane (''Balearica pavonina'') is a part of the family Gruidae, along with its sister species, the grey crowned crane. It is topped with its characteristic bristle-feathered golden crown. It is usually found in the shallow we ...
'') is abundant, but is considered vulnerable.
The helmeted guineafowl ('' Numida meleagris'') is also abundant.
Demoiselle cranes (''Grus virgo
The demoiselle crane (''Grus virgo'') is a species of crane found in central Eurosiberia, ranging from the Black Sea to Mongolia and North Eastern China. There is also a small breeding population in Turkey. These cranes are migratory birds. Bir ...
'') visit in the winter, as well as large numbers of white storks (''Ciconia ciconia
The white stork (''Ciconia ciconia'') is a large bird in the stork family, Ciconiidae. Its plumage is mainly white, with black on the bird's wings. Adults have long red legs and long pointed red beaks, and measure on average from beak tip to en ...
'').[
A 2007 report estimated that there were about 100 elephants in the sector, which may still migrate to and from the Waza park.][
The Cameroon and Nigerian park authorities have been cooperating to prevent poaching of wildlife and to raise awareness among the local people of the longer-term value of conservation.][
There have been discussions by the IUCN over making the sector and the Waza National Park an internationally designated protected area.][
]
Bade-Nguru Wetlands sector
The Bade-Nguru Wetlands sector is part of the Hadejia-Nguru wetlands, and has an area of 938 km2 around coordinates .
It lies in the southwest of the Bade and Jakusko
Jakusko is a Local Government Area in Yobe State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Jakusko in the west of the area at.
It has an area of 3,941 km and a population of 229,083 at the 2006 census.
The postal code of the area is 631 ...
Local Government Areas of Yobe State.
The sector includes the Dagona Waterfowl Sanctuary, an important resting place for migratory birds.[
It also includes five forest reserves.][
Annual rainfall ranges between 200–600 mm, during the period late May–September.
With reduced flooding due to upstream dams and perhaps climate change, and with increasing population, the environment is degrading. There is growing competition between humans and wildlife. Farmers set out poison to kill the crop-destroying '']Quelea quelea
The red-billed quelea (; ''Quelea quelea''), also known as the red-billed weaver or red-billed dioch, is a small—approximately long and weighing —migratory, sparrow-like bird of the weaver family, Ploceidae, native to Sub-Saharan Africa.
...
'', in the process killing non-target species. Marginal land is now coming under cultivation and tree cover in the forest reserves is being depleted.[
]
Bulatura sector
The Bulatura sector is in the Yusufari
Yusufari is a Local Government Area in Yobe State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Yusufari in the south-east of the area at . It shares a border in the north with The Republic of Niger.
It has an area of 3,928 km and a populat ...
Local Government Area of Yobe State, and has an area of 92 km2 around coordinates .
The sector has a series of swampy valleys separated by scenic sand dunes. The valleys contain rich deposits of potash
Potash () includes various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water-soluble form. .[
]
References
{{authority control
National parks of Nigeria
Borno State
Yobe State