Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...

is largely wild bush country with a mixture of grass and small trees in varying proportions. The

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

region is mainly grassland in the rainy season and semi desert during the

harmattan The Harmattan is a season in West Africa that occurs between the end of November and the middle of March. It is characterized by the dry and dusty northeasterly trade wind, of the same name, which blows from the Sahara over West Africa into the ...

period (defined as the period when stormy and dusty

Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

winds blow dry and hot). Fauna, one of the most diverse in West Africa, includes the

elephant 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 an ...

hippopotamus The hippopotamus ( ; : hippopotamuses or hippopotami; ''Hippopotamus amphibius''), also called the hippo, common hippopotamus, or river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two extan ...

, buffalo,

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 ...

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

crocodile Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to inclu ...

giraffe The giraffe is a large African hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa''. It is the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on Earth. Traditionally, giraffes were thought to be one species, ''Giraffa camelopardalis ...

, various types of

antelope The term antelope is used to refer to many species of even-toed ruminant that are indigenous to various regions in Africa and Eurasia. Antelope comprise a wastebasket taxon defined as any of numerous Old World grazing and browsing hoofed mammals ...

, and a vast variety of bird and insect life. The country has 147

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

species, 330 aquatic species including 121 species of

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

and 2067 different plant species.Adjima Thiombiano, Marco Schmidt, Stefan Dressler, Amadé Ouédraogo, Karen Hahn, Georg Zizka. 2012. ''Catalogue des plantes vasculaires du Burkina Faso.'' Boissiera 65, Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques de la ville de Genève. 391 S. Of the plant species, the dominant endemic species are

shea tree ''Vitellaria paradoxa'' (formerly ''Butyrospermum parkii''), commonly known as shea tree, shi tree (), or vitellaria, is a tree of the family Sapotaceae. It is the only species in the genus ''Vitellaria'',Butyrospermum parkii ''Vitellaria paradoxa'' (formerly ''Butyrospermum parkii''), commonly known as shea tree, shi tree (), or vitellaria, is a tree of the family Sapotaceae. It is the only species in the genus ''Vitellaria'',baobab ''Adansonia'' is a genus made up of eight species of medium-to-large deciduous trees known as baobabs ( or ). They are placed in the Malvaceae family, subfamily Bombacoideae. They are native to Madagascar, mainland Africa, and Australia.Tropic ...

, the former plant species has immense economic value to the country. To ensure conservation and preservation of the wildlife of Burkina Faso, four national parks have been established. These are the Po National Park in the south-centre of the country, Arli National Park established in 1954 in the southeast,

W of the Niger National Park The W National Park (french: Parc national du W) or W Regional Park (french: W du Niger, links=no) is a major national park in West Africa around a meander in the River Niger shaped like the letter W (french: double v, links=no). The park includ ...

, a trans frontier park existing since 1957 in the east bordering

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...

and

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesDeux Balés National Park Deux Balés National Park is a national park located in central eastern Burkina Faso. It is within Mouhoun Province just west of the Black Volta River and at an elevation of 235-310m. In addition, the List of national parks of Burkina Faso consist of one

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 ...

Biosphere reserve, three Complete Reserves, six Partial Reserves and ten protected forests. However, according to conservation classification conducted between 1936 and 1957, the country has 78 protected areas that cover , which accounts to about 14% of the area of the country.

Geography

Wildlife area in the landlocked

in western Africa is spread over a plateau area of . The dominant habitat types are the grassy savanna in the north with transition to the varying thin forests in the south. Based on ecological characteristics and climatic conditions, the country is divided under three bio-climatic zones namely, the Sahelian Zone, the Sudanian Zone and the Sudano-Guinean Zone. The Sahelian Zone covers 25% of the area of the northern part of the country, which is further subdivided under the Sahelian and sub-Sahelian sectors. In the Sahelian sector, where the rainfall is only of the order of , the vegetation is mostly of shrubs and wooded grassland or steppe. The sub-Sahelian sector represents the transition zone, receives an average annual rainfall of and represents the transition between the Sahelian and Sudanian bioclimatic zones. The vegetation in this sector has moist Sudan savanna vegetation in the river valleys, while the western half is largely inhabited by humans; most of the large trees in the northern half of the sector are reported to have vanished due to climate change. The Sudan Zone receives higher rainfall in the range of and is further subdivided into three sectors namely, the central plateau sector, the Mouhoun sector and the Pendjari–Mékrou sector and has widely varying vegetation depending on human occupation for agriculture and mostly savanna vegetation, predominantly wooded savanna. the Pendjari–Mékrou sector with its floodplains and many ephemeral rivers, is less populated by humans but has the largest population of mammals in the country; vultures and raptors are also reported. The Sudano-Guinean Zone in the southwest corner of the country is a humid zone with an annual rainfall in the range of . It is heavily wooded with wooded savannas and gallery forests; it has the ambience of a park with its widespread vegetation of Khaya senegalensis,

Daniellia oliveri ''Daniellia oliveri'' is a species of tree in the family Fabaceae. It is native to tropical West and Central Africa and is commonly known as the African copaiba balsam tree, or the West African copal tree. Description ''Daniellia oliveri'' is a ...

and Isoberlin forests, tall grasses and savanna vegetation is also a dominant feature. Its human population distribution is low but the wildlife population is the second largest in the country. The area is drained by many rivers, the most important of them being the

Black Volta The Black Volta or Mouhoun is a river that flows through Burkina Faso for approximately 1,352 km (840 mi) to the White Volta in Dagbon, Ghana, the upper end of Lake Volta. The source of the Black Volta is in the Cascades Region of Burki ...

( Mouhoun), the

Red Volta The Red Volta or Nazinon is a waterway flowing located in West Africa. It emerges near Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso and has a length of about 320 km which it joins the White Volta in Ghana. The river is primarily located in Burkina Faso and ...

(

Nazinon The Red Volta or Nazinon is a waterway flowing located in West Africa. It emerges near Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso and has a length of about 320 km which it joins the White Volta in Ghana. The river is primarily located in Burkina Faso and ...

), and the White Volta (Nakambé), which flow into

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 ...

on the south and form the Volta River.

Climate

Rainy season (June to September) is one of the four seasons in Burkina Faso; the other three being, an intermediate season from September to mid November, the summer of

season of the Sahara hot and stormy winds (mid February to mid June) and the dry and winter cool season from mid November to mid February. During the rainy season is when the shrubs and stunted trees flourish in the savanna in the northern region where rainfall incidence is about 10 inches and the rivers flow full with dense vegetation growing in the southern region of the country when the rainfall incidence is as high as .

National Parks

There are four important National Parks in Burkina Faso namely, the Arli National Park existing since 1954, the Deux Balés National Park, Kaboré Tambi National Park and the W of the Niger National Park which is a trans-boundary park existing since 1957.

Arli National Park

The Arli National Park, covering an area of , lies to the southwest of Arli–W–Singou complex. It borders with

(the

Pendjari River The Oti River or Pendjari River is an international river in West Africa. It rises in Benin, forms the border between Benin and Burkina Faso, flows through Togo, and joins the Volta River in Ghana. Geography The Oti River is about long. Its head ...

forms the boundary) and Singou Game Ranch on its northwest direction and has large network of drainage system which has vast flood plains. Within the park boundary, the Falaise de Gobnangou is a prominent hill feature with cliffs that extends over from the southwest to the northeast. The park also has many

inselbergs An inselberg or monadnock () is an isolated rock hill, knob, ridge, or small mountain that rises abruptly from a gently sloping or virtually level surrounding plain. In Southern Africa a similar formation of granite is known as a koppie, a ...

. Shrub and tree-savanna (extensive growth of ''

Isoberlinia doka ''Isoberlinia doka'' is a hardwood tree native to African tropical savannas and Guinean forest-savanna mosaic dry forests where it can form single species stands. The tree is exploited for its economic value as a commercial timber. The leaves ...

'') in the non-flooded areas, ''

Mitragyna inermis ''Mitragyna'' is a genus of trees in the family Rubiaceae found in the tropical and subtropical regions of Asia and Africa. Members of this genus contain antimalarial and analgesic indole alkaloids. The Rubiacae are the fifth-largest family of f ...

'' with gallery forests in seasonally flooded areas, baobab ''

Adansonia digitata ''Adansonia digitata'', the African baobab, is the most widespread tree species of the genus ''Adansonia'', the baobabs, and is native to the African continent and the southern Arabian Peninsula (Yemen, Oman). These are long-lived pachycauls; ra ...

'' trees near old village sites are some of the vegetation types found in the park.

Deux Balés National Park

The Deux Balés National Park, is located in central eastern Burkina Faso, within

Mouhoun Province Mouhoun is one of the 45 provinces of Burkina Faso. It is in the Boucle du Mouhoun region. The capital of Mouhoun is Dédougou. Education In 2011 the province had 210 primary schools and 34 secondary schools. Healthcare In 2011 the province had 2 ...

. It is situated to the west of the

Black Volta River The Black Volta or Mouhoun is a river that flows through Burkina Faso for approximately 1,352 km (840 mi) to the White Volta in Dagbon, Ghana, the upper end of Lake Volta. The source of the Black Volta is in the Cascades Region of Burki ...

. It has an elevation range of . The park was first established in 1937 as the ''forêts classées des Deux Balés'' ('the Deux Balés Classified Forests') with an area of . In 2001, the largest number of

s in West Africa were found in Deux Balés (together with Baporo Forest), estimated at four hundred of them.

Kaboré Tambi National Park

The Kaboré Tambi National Park is situated between

Ouagadougou Ouagadougou ( , , ) is the capital and largest city of Burkina Faso and the administrative, communications, cultural, and economic centre of the nation. It is also the country's largest city, with a population of 2,415,266 in 2019. The city's n ...

and the border with

. It follows the course of the Nazinon River. It was founded in 1976 as Pô National Park or known as Parc National Kaboré Tambi (PNKT). The park has an area of in the alluvial floodplain on both banks of the ephemeral Volta Rouge River; the river results to small water holes during the summer season. A number of small marshes and lakes also dominate the scene. It maintains contiguity with the Nazinga Game Ranch of area, the Sissili Hunting Concession of ha and the village hunting zones around Nazinga and Sissili villages. The park has varied topography with geological formations of granite outcrops,

lateritic Laterite is both a soil and a rock type rich in iron and aluminium and is commonly considered to have formed in hot and wet tropical areas. Nearly all laterites are of rusty-red coloration, because of high iron oxide content. They develop by ...

plateaus and several isolated high mountains. The vegetation types found here are northern Sudan savanna, shrub savanna, tree-savanna and gallery forests. The park is home to lion, elephant, buffalo and a number of antelope species. Poaching and deforestation activities are an issue in the park. The main road from Ouagadougou to Bolgatanga in northern

runs across the park.

W of the Niger National Park

The W of the Niger National Park was created in August 1954. It is a major national park of the three countries of Niger, Benin and Burkina Faso, and is governed by the three governments. It is around a

meander A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank ( cut bank) and deposits sediments on an inner, convex bank ...

in the River Niger shaped like a " W". Until 2008, the implementation of a regional management was supported by the EU-funded Project ECOPAS (French: ''Ecosystèmes Protégés en Afrique Soudano-Sahélienne''). The three national parks operate under the name W Transborder Park. In the three nations, the park covers about , largely uninhabited by humans, having been until the 1970s a

Malarial Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or dea ...

zone of wetlands formed by the delta of the Mékrou River with the Niger, broken by rocky hills. It was declared 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) **

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...

n countries with the largest faunal population.

Mammals

Mammals in Burkina Faso include aardvark,

African bush elephant The African bush elephant (''Loxodonta africana'') is one of two extant African elephant species and one of three extant elephant species. It is the largest living terrestrial animal, with bulls reaching a shoulder height of up to and a body ...

, African civet,

African clawless otter The African clawless otter (''Aonyx capensis''), also known as the Cape clawless otter or groot otter, is the second-largest freshwater otter species. It inhabits permanent water bodies in savannah and lowland forest areas through most of sub- ...

African golden cat The African golden cat (''Caracal aurata'') is a wild cat endemic to the rainforests of West and Central Africa. It is threatened due to deforestation and bushmeat hunting and listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. It is a close relative o ...

, African ground squirrel,

West African wild dog The African wild dog (''Lycaon pictus''), also called the painted dog or Cape hunting dog, is a wild canine which is a native species to sub-Saharan Africa. It is the largest wild canine in Africa, and the only extant member of the genus '' L ...

, western dwarf buffalo,

bushbuck The Cape bushbuck (''Tragelaphus sylvaticus'') is a common and a widespread species of antelope in sub-Saharan Africa.Wronski T, Moodley Y. (2009)Bushbuck, harnessed antelope or both? ''Gnusletter'', 28(1):18-19. Bushbuck are found in a wide ra ...

, Cape hare, Cape hyrax,

caracal The caracal (''Caracal caracal'') () is a medium-sized wild cat native to Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and arid areas of Pakistan and northwestern India. It is characterised by a robust build, long legs, a short face, long tufted e ...

, Northwest African cheetah,

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

common genet The common genet (''Genetta genetta'') is a small viverrid indigenous to Africa that was introduced to southwestern Europe. It is widely distributed north of the Sahara, in savanna zones south of the Sahara to southern Africa and along the coast ...

, Dorcas gazelle, fennec fox,

four-toed hedgehog The four-toed hedgehog (''Atelerix albiventris''), is a species of hedgehog found throughout much of central and eastern Africa. Populations tend to be scattered between suitable savannah or cropland habitats, avoiding forested areas. The specie ...

, giant pangolin,

West African giraffe The West African giraffe (''Giraffa camelopardalis peralta''), Niger giraffe or Nigerien giraffe is a subspecies of the giraffe distinguished by its light colored spots. It is found in the Sahel of West Africa. In the 19th century it ranged fr ...

Egyptian wolf The Egyptian wolf (''Canis lupaster lupaster'') or the Egyptian Jackal is a subspecies of African golden wolf native to northern, eastern and a part of western Africa. Taxonomic and evolutionary history The Egyptian wolf had an unresolved taxono ...

Hausa genet The Hausa genet (''Genetta thierryi'') is a Genetta, genet species native to West African savannas. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Hausa genets have been sighted in Senegal's wooded steppes, in moist woodlands in Guinea-Biss ...

, African leopard, West African lion, olive baboon, oribi, pale fox,

patas monkey The common patas monkey (''Erythrocebus patas''), also known as the wadi monkey or hussar monkey, is a ground-dwelling monkey distributed over semi-arid areas of West Africa, and into East Africa. Taxonomy There is some confusion surrounding ...

, honey badger, red-fronted gazelle, reedbuck, roan antelope,

rusty-spotted genet The rusty-spotted genet (''Genetta maculata''), also called panther genet and large-spotted genet, is a genet that is widely distributed in sub-Saharan Africa. It is considered common and therefore listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. ...

, Senegal bushbaby, serval, side-striped jackal, slender mongoose, speckle-throated otter,

spotted hyena The spotted hyena (''Crocuta crocuta''), also known as the laughing hyena, is a hyena species, currently classed as the sole extant member of the genus ''Crocuta'', native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is listed as being of least concern by the IUC ...

, striped hyena,

striped polecat The striped polecat (''Ictonyx striatus''), also called the African polecat, zoril, zorille, zorilla, Cape polecat, and African skunk, is a member of the family Mustelidae that resembles a skunk (of the family Mephitidae). The name "zorilla" co ...

sun squirrel Sun squirrels (genus ''Heliosciurus''), form a taxon of squirrels under the subfamily Xerinae and the tribe Protoxerini. They are only found in sub-Saharan Africa. Either the habit of basking in the sun on tree branches or the tail being commo ...

tree pangolin The tree pangolin (''Phataginus tricuspis'') is one of eight extant species of pangolins ("scaly anteaters"), and is native to equatorial Africa. Also known as the white-bellied pangolin or three-cusped pangolin, it is the most common of the ...

warthog ''Phacochoerus'' is a genus in the family Suidae, commonly known as warthogs (pronounced ''wart-hog''). They are pigs who live in open and semi-open habitats, even in quite arid regions, in sub-Saharan Africa. The two species were formerly cons ...

water chevrotain The water chevrotain (''Hyemoschus aquaticus''), also known as the fanged deer, is a small ruminant found in tropical Africa. This is the only species in the genus ''Hyemoschus''. It is the largest of the 10 species of chevrotains, basal even-t ...

, western hartebeest, white-tailed mongoose and African wildcat. The

is considered locally extinct in Burkina Faso, but may be migrating back into the country during the rainy season.

Hyena Hyenas, or hyaenas (from Ancient Greek , ), are feliform carnivoran mammals of the family Hyaenidae . With only four extant species (each in its own genus), it is the fifth-smallest family in the Carnivora and one of the smallest in the clas ...

are widespread but at low densities.

Reptiles

Three

species are found in the wild,

slender-snouted crocodile ''Mecistops'' is a genus of crocodiles, the slender-snouted crocodiles, native to sub-Saharan Africa. Taxonomy and etymology Traditionally placed in ''Crocodylus'', recent studies in DNA and morphology have shown that it is in fact basal to '' ...

Nile crocodile The Nile crocodile (''Crocodylus niloticus'') is a large crocodilian native to freshwater habitats in Africa, where it is present in 26 countries. It is widely distributed throughout sub-Saharan Africa, occurring mostly in the central, eastern ...

, and

dwarf crocodile The dwarf crocodile (''Osteolaemus tetraspis''), also known as the African dwarf crocodile, broad-snouted crocodile (a name more often used for the Asian mugger crocodile) or bony crocodile, is an African crocodile that is also the smallest extan ...

. According to Bird Life International, there are 119 migrant birds which visit the country out of which 81 belong to Palaearctic species including two species namely ''

Falco naumanni The lesser kestrel (''Falco naumanni'') is a small falcon. This species breeds from the Mediterranean across Afghanistan and Central Asia, to China and Mongolia. It is a summer migrant, wintering in Africa and Pakistan and sometimes even to Indi ...

'' ( vulnerable) and ''

Gallinago media The great snipe (''Gallinago media'') is a small stocky wader in the genus ''Gallinago''. This bird's breeding habitat is marshes and wet meadows with short vegetation in north-eastern Europe, including north-western Russia. Great snipes are mig ...

'' (

near threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qualify fo ...

) of global conservation concern. There are also 10 Important Bird Areas (IBAs) identified which cover 20260 km² accounting for 7.4% area of the country.

Birds

In Burkina Faso, as of 2005, 497 bird species of various families, including 35 rare or accidental species, 12 near

threatened Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensat ...

species, three vulnerable species ( lesser kestrel ''Falco naumanni'',

white-headed vulture The white-headed vulture (''Trigonoceps occipitalis'') is an Old World vulture endemic to Africa. Populations have been declining steeply in recent years due to habitat degradation and poisoning of vultures at carcasses. An extinct relative was a ...

''Trigonoceps occipitalis'' and

Beaudouin's snake-eagle Beaudouin's snake eagle (''Circaetus beaudouini'') is a species of snake eagle in the family Accipitridae found in the Sahel region of west Africa. It forms a superspecies with the Palearctic short-toed snake eagle ''Circaetus gallicus'' and ...

''Circaetus beaudouini'') and one endangered species (

Egyptian vulture The Egyptian vulture (''Neophron percnopterus''), also called the white scavenger vulture or pharaoh's chicken, is a small Old World vulture and the only member of the genus ''Neophron''. It is widely distributed from the Iberian Peninsula and ...

''Neophron percnopterus'') have been reported. These cover species under several families such as: thirteen of

Anatidae The Anatidae are the biological family of water birds that includes ducks, geese, and swans. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on all the world's continents except Antarctica. These birds are adapted for swimming, floating ...

, one of Numididae ( helmeted guineafowl ''Numida meleagris''), six of

Phasianidae The Phasianidae are a family (biology), family of heavy, ground-living birds, which includes pheasants, partridges, junglefowl, chickens, Turkey bird, turkeys, Old World quail, and peafowl. The family includes many of the most popular Game (hunti ...

, one of Podicipedidae, two of Ciconiidae, one of Anhingidae (

African darter The African darter (''Anhinga rufa''), sometimes called the snakebird, is a water bird of sub-Saharan Africa and Iraq. Taxonomy The African darter is a member of the darter family, Anhingidae, and is closely related to American (''Anhinga anhin ...

''Anhinga rufa''), one of Pelecanidae (

great white pelican The great white pelican (''Pelecanus onocrotalus'') also known as the eastern white pelican, rosy pelican or white pelican is a bird in the pelican family. It breeds from southeastern Europe through Asia and Africa, in swamps and shallow lakes. ...

''Pelecanus onocrotalus''), one of

Scopidae ''Scopus'' is a genus of wading birds containing the hamerkop ''(Scopus umbretta)'' and its extinct Pliocene relative, ''Scopus xenopus''. This genus is the sole representative of the family Scopidae. Taxonomy Hamerkops were traditionally includ ...

( hamerkop ''Scopus umbretta''), seventeen of Ardeidae, five of

Threskiornithidae The family Threskiornithidae includes 36 species of large wading birds. The family has been traditionally classified into two subfamilies, the ibises and the spoonbills; however recent genetic studies have cast doubt on this arrangement, and hav ...

, one of family

Pandionidae ''Pandion'' is a genus of birds of prey, known as ospreys, the only genus of family Pandionidae. Most taxonomic treatments have regarded this genus as describing a single extant species, separated to subspecies or races, while some treatments rec ...

(

osprey The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...

''Pandion haliaetus''), thirty-nine of Accipitridae (mostly eagles, vultures and hawks), one of

Sagittariidae Sagittariidae is a family of raptor with one living species—the secretarybird (''Sagittarius serpentarius'') native to Africa. This single extant species, has effected the fossil record of the group by ‘pulling’ the temporal range of the fam ...

(

secretary-bird The secretarybird or secretary bird (''Sagittarius serpentarius'') is a large, mostly terrestrial bird of prey. Endemic to Africa, it is usually found in the open grasslands and savanna of the sub-Saharan region. John Frederick Miller described ...

''Sagittarius serpentarius''), eleven of ''

Falconidae The falcons and caracaras are around 60 species of diurnal birds of prey that make up the family Falconidae (representing all extant species in the order Falconiformes). The family is divided into three subfamilies, Herpetotherinae, which inclu ...

'', nine of

Rallidae The rails, or Rallidae, are a large cosmopolitan family of small- to medium-sized, ground-living birds. The family exhibits considerable diversity and includes the crakes, coots, and gallinules. Many species are associated with wetlands, althoug ...

, one of

(

African finfoot The African finfoot (''Podica senegalensis'') is an aquatic bird from the family Heliornithidae (the finfoots and sungrebe). The species lives in the rivers and lakes of western, central, and southern Africa. Description The African finfoot is ...

''Podica senegalensis''), six of Otididae, one of Gruidae (

black crowned-crane 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 w ...

''Balearica pavonina''), three of

Burhinidae The stone-curlews, also known as dikkops or thick-knees, consist of 10 species within the family Burhinidae, and are found throughout the tropical and temperate parts of the world, with two or more species occurring in some areas of Africa, Asia, ...

, eleven of Charadriidae, two of Recurvirostridae, two of

Jacanidae The jacanas (sometimes referred to as Jesus birds or lily trotters) are a group of tropical waders in the family Jacanidae. They are found in the tropical regions around the world. They are noted for their elongated toes and toenails that allow ...

, eighteen of

Scolopacidae Sandpipers are a large family, Scolopacidae, of waders. They include many species called sandpipers, as well as those called by names such as curlew and snipe. The majority of these species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil. ...

, two of Turnicidae, five of

Glareolidae Glareolidae is a family of birds in the wader suborder Charadrii. It contains two distinct groups, the pratincoles and the coursers. The atypical Egyptian plover (''Pluvianus aegyptius''), traditionally placed in this family, is now known to be ...

, one of

Rostratulidae The Rostratulidae, commonly known as the painted-snipes, are a family of wading birds that consists of two genera: ''Rostratula'' and '' Nycticryphes''. Description The painted-snipes are short-legged, long-billed birds similar in shape to the t ...

(

Greater painted-snipe The greater painted-snipe (''Rostratula benghalensis'') is a species of wader in the family Rostratulidae. It is found in marshes in Africa, South Asia and South-east Asia. Description Medium-sized, plump wading bird. Long reddish-brown bill, s ...

''Rostratula benghalensis''), eight of Laridae, two of

Pteroclidae Sandgrouse is the common name for Pteroclidae , a family of sixteen species of bird, members of the order Pterocliformes . They are traditionally placed in two genera. The two central Asian species are classified as '' Syrrhaptes'' and the other ...

, thirteen of

Columbidae Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

, two of Psittacidae, two of Musophagidae, twelve of Cuculidae (cuckoos), one of Tytonidae (

barn owl The barn owl (''Tyto alba'') is the most widely distributed species of owl in the world and one of the most widespread of all species of birds, being found almost everywhere except for the polar and desert regions, Asia north of the Himalaya ...

''Tyto alba''), eight of Strigidae, eight of Apodidae, one of

Coliidae The mousebirds are birds in the order Coliiformes. They are the sister group to the clade Eucavitaves, which includes the Leptosomiformes (the cuckoo roller), Trogoniformes (trogons), Bucerotiformes (hornbills and hoopoes), Piciformes (woodpeck ...

(

blue-naped mousebird The blue-naped mousebird (''Urocolius macrourus''), also formerly called the blue-naped coly (''Colius macrourus'') is a species of bird found in the wild in the drier regions of East Africa. It is one of the remaining six species of Mousebirds. ...

''Urocolius macrourus''), one of

Trogonidae The trogons and quetzals are birds in the order Trogoniformes which contains only one family, the Trogonidae. The family Trogonidae contains 46 species in seven genera. The fossil record of the trogons dates back 49 million years to the Early E ...

(

Narina trogon __NOTOC__ The Narina trogon (''Apaloderma narina'') is a largely green and red, medium-sized (32–34 cm long), bird of the family Trogonidae. It is native to forests and woodlands of the Afrotropics. Though it is the most widespread and cat ...

''Apaloderma narina''), nine of Alcedinidae, eight of

Meropidae The bee-eaters are a group of non-passerine birds in the family Meropidae, containing three genera and thirty species. Most species are found in Africa and Asia, with a few in southern Europe, Australia, and New Guinea. They are characterised by ...

, five of

Coraciidae Coraciidae is a family of Old World birds, which is known as rollers because of the aerial acrobatics some of these birds perform during courtship or territorial flights. Rollers resemble crows in size and build, and share the colourful appearan ...

, one of Upupidae ( Eurasian hoopoe ''Upupa epops'', two of

Phoeniculidae The wood hoopoes or scimitarbills are a small African family, Phoeniculidae, of near passerine birds. They live south of the Sahara Desert and are not migratory. While the family is now restricted to Sub-Saharan Africa, fossil evidence shows th ...

, four of Bucerotidae, four of Lybiidae, two of Indicatoridae, two of Indicatoridae, nine of

Picidae Woodpeckers are part of the bird family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks, and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar, and the extreme polar regions. M ...

, three of

Platysteiridae Platysteiridae is a family of small, stout passerine birds of the African tropics. The family contains the wattle-eyes, batises and shrike-flycatchers. They were previously classed as a subfamily of the Old World flycatchers, Muscicapidae. These ...

, two of

Prionopidae Helmetshrikes are a family uniting some smallish to mid-sized songbird species. They were included with the true shrikes in the family Laniidae, later on split between several presumably closely related groups such as bushshrikes ( Malaconotidae ...

, nine of Malaconotidae, two of Campephagidae, nine of Laniidae, two of Oriolidae, three of Dicruridae, two of

Monarchidae The monarchs (family Monarchidae) comprise a family of over 100 passerine birds which includes shrikebills, paradise flycatchers, and magpie-larks. Monarchids are small insectivorous songbirds with long tails. They inhabit forest or woodland a ...

, three of Corvidae, one of

Nicatoridae The nicators are a genus, ''Nicator'', and family, Nicatoridae, of songbirds endemic to Africa. The genus and family contain three species. Taxonomy The systematic affinities of the genus have been a long-standing mystery. The group was origina ...

(

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. ...

''Nicator chloris'', nine of Alaudidae, seventeen of Hirundinidae, one of

Stenostiridae Stenostiridae, or the fairy flycatchers, are a family of small passerine birds proposed as a result of recent discoveries in molecular systematics.Beresford ''et al.'' (2005) They are also referred to as stenostirid warblers. Taxonomy and system ...

( African blue-flycatcher ''Elminia longicauda''), one of Paridae ( white-shouldered black-tit ''Parus guineensis''), two of Remizidae, one of Certhiidae ( spotted creeper ''Salpornis salvadori''), two of

Pycnonotidae The bulbuls are members of a family, Pycnonotidae, of medium-sized passerine songbirds, which also includes greenbuls, brownbuls, leafloves, and bristlebills. The family is distributed across most of Africa and into the Middle East, tropical Asi ...

, four of Phylloscopidae, six of Acrocephalidae, twenty of Cisticolidae, one of Hyliotidae (

yellow-bellied hyliota The yellow-bellied hyliota (''Hyliota flavigaster'') is a species of Hyliota. It is found in Angola, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Gabon, ...

''Hyliota flavigaster''), twenty-seven species of Muscicapidae, three of Turdidae, three of Timaliidae, one of Zosteropidae ( northern yellow white-eye ''Zosterops senegalensis''), nine of Sturnidae, one of

Buphagidae The oxpeckers are two species of bird which make up the genus ''Buphagus'', and family (biology), family Buphagidae. The oxpeckers were formerly usually treated as a subfamily, Buphaginae, within the starling family, Sturnidae, but molecular p ...

( yellow-billed oxpecker ''Buphagus africanus''), eight of

Motacillidae The wagtails, longclaws, and pipits are a family, Motacillidae, of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. Around 70 species occur in five genera. The longclaws are entirely restricted to the Afrotropics, and the wagtails are predominan ...

, four of Emberizidae, three of Fringillidae, three of Passeridae, nineteen of Ploceidae, nineteen of Estrildidae and six of Viduidae. Ten Important Bird Areas (IBAs) which cover about (7.4% of the area of the country). These have Sudan–Guinea Savanna biome (A04) (with 30 of the 32 species of this biome), Sahel biome (A03) (with six of eight biome species) and with breeding colony of '' Gyps rueppellii'' in the Arli–W–Singou Park complex (accounting for more than 1% of the global population of the species). The number of resident bird species is reported by Birdlife International as 318, out of which 119 are migratory birds. Of the migratory birds, 81 belong to Palaearctic family and two species are of global conservation concern, namely ''

'' (Vulnerable) and ''

'' (Near Threatened).

Insects

;Lepidoptera

Flora

The flora of Burkina Faso is composed of 2067 plant species. The most important families in terms of species richness and abundance are the grasses (

Poaceae Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...

) and legumes (

Fabaceae The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenc ...

).Marco Schmidt
''Pflanzenvielfalt in Burkina Faso. Analyse, Modellierung und Dokumentation
'. 2006 Many species are distributed widely in the savannas regions of Africa. There are however two endemic plants, '' Pandanus brevifrugalis'' and ''

Isoetes jaegeri ''Isoetes'', commonly known as the quillworts, is the only extant genus of plants in the family Isoetaceae, which is in the class of lycopods. There are currently 192 recognized species, with a cosmopolitan distribution but with the individual sp ...

''. Approximately 15% of the country has forest cover while wooded land constitutes approximately 34% of the area. Very little closed forest can be found and this is mainly of the gallery forest type along

waterway A waterway is any navigable body of water. Broad distinctions are useful to avoid ambiguity, and disambiguation will be of varying importance depending on the nuance of the equivalent word in other languages. A first distinction is necessary b ...

s. The open forests include savanna of four types, namely Sahelian, Sahelian-Sudanian, Sudanian, and Sudanian-Guinean. Though much of the country is dry and sparse, vegetation can vary considerably. Northern Burkina Faso consists mainly of savanna, acacia woodland, and during the wet season, prickly shrubs and stunted trees flourish. Herbaceous plants include broadleaf deciduous, shrub, desert shrub, semi-desert savanna and thorny scrub. Crops include

Banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...

Cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively ...

Bougainvillea ''Bougainvillea'' ( , ) is a genus of thorny ornamental vines, bushes, and trees belonging to the four o' clock family, Nyctaginaceae. It is native to eastern South America, found from Brazil, west to Peru, and south to southern Argentina. ...

Cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

Guava Guava () is a common tropical fruit cultivated in many tropical and subtropical regions. The common guava ''Psidium guajava'' (lemon guava, apple guava) is a small tree in the myrtle family ( Myrtaceae), native to Mexico, Central America, the ...

Maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

Spinach Spinach (''Spinacia oleracea'') is a leafy green flowering plant native to central and western Asia. It is of the order Caryophyllales, family Amaranthaceae, subfamily Chenopodioideae. Its leaves are a common edible vegetable consumed either f ...

, ''

Malabar Spinach ''Basella alba'' is an edible perennial vine in the family Basellaceae. It is found in tropical Asia and Africa where it is widely used as a leaf vegetable. It is native to the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and New Guinea. It is naturali ...

'',

Millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most species generally referred to as millets belong to the tribe Paniceae, but some millets al ...

Onions An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion ...

Papaya The papaya (, ), papaw, () or pawpaw () is the plant species ''Carica papaya'', one of the 21 accepted species in the genus ''Carica'' of the family Caricaceae. It was first domesticated in Mesoamerica, within modern-day southern Mexico and ...

Sorghum ''Sorghum'' () is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family (Poaceae). Some of these species are grown as cereals for human consumption and some in pastures for animals. One species is grown for grain, while many othe ...

Tomato The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...

es, and Yams. Most of the country consists of sparse savanna grasslands, with the occasional shrub or acacia. Although the country only has about 15% forest cover overall, there are many forests in the south, growing denser along the banks of the perennial rivers. These include Diéfoula Forest, Logoniégué Forest,

Laba Forest Laba Forest is a protected forest in Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the no ...

, Dida Forest, Koulbi National Forest, Bontioli Reserve Forest, Nabere Partial Reserve Forest, Koflandé Forest, Maro Forest, Tui Forest, Deux Balés Forest, Kalio Forest, Tisse Forest, Dibon Forest,

Pâ Forest Pâ Forest is a protected forest in Burkina Faso. It is located in Balé Province Balé is one of the 45 provinces of Burkina Faso, located in its Boucle du Mouhoun Region with Boromo as capital. Its area is , and had a population of 297,367 ...

, Mou Forest, Boulon Forest,

Tigo Forest Millicom International Cellular SA (NASDAQ U.S.: TIGO, NASDAQ Stockholm: TIGO_SDB) is a Luxembourgish fixed line and mobile telecommunications services provider dedicated to emerging markets in Latin America operating under the Tigo brand. As of ...

, Nakambe Forest and Niangoloko Forest, of which about 16% have official protection. Poverty means that

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...

is a problem in the country and each year the country loses approximately 32,000 hectares of forests, to make way for agriculture and for fuelwood, which around 90% of the national population are dependent upon. Numerous NGOs are active in the country, educating farmers and encouraging them to minimize land clearing and plant trees as well as cultivate the land. Trees of note include the

Sahel The Sahel (; ar, ساحل ' , "coast, shore") is a region in North Africa. It is defined as the ecoclimatic and biogeographic realm of transition between the Sahara to the north and the Sudanian savanna to the south. Having a hot semi-arid c ...

region of West Africa, Burkina Faso contains the largest number of them. The shea tree is extremely important to the Burkinabe people and is termed as "women's gold" by the villagers, because the nuts of shea tree can be collected and then processed by crushing and grinding to yield

shea butter Shea butter (, , or ; ) is a fat extracted from yellow the nut of the African shea tree (''Vitellaria paradoxa''). It is ivory in color when raw and commonly dyed yellow with borututu root or palm oil. It is widely used in cosmetics as a moi ...

, important in cuisine and in exports, for use in the manufacture of chocolate and cosmetics such as soap. Shea nuts are the country's third most important export, after cotton and livestock; in 1997, an average tonne of unprocessed shea nuts sold domestically for CFA70,000 (US$980) and overseas for CFA1,00,000 (US$1400). The most important centres of shea butter production are in

Sissili Province Sissili is one of the 45 provinces of Burkina Faso, located in its Centre-Ouest Region. In 2006 the population was 212,628 and in 2011 the population was 240,830, an increase of 13.3%. Its capital is Léo Léo is a proper noun in French, mean ...

and

Ziro Province ''For the town in India, see Ziro''. Ziro is a province of Burkina Faso, located in its Centre-Ouest Region. It has an area of . The provincial capital is the town of Sapouy. Education In 2011 the province had 0 primary schools and 0 secondary sch ...

. The bark of the tree is also used as an ingredient in traditional medicines and the shell of nut is said to be able to repel mosquitoes and is also said to protect existing trees. The Bambara groundnut (''Vigna subterranea'') is also grown in abundance; Burkina Faso produced some 20,000 tonnes in 1989, after

peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible Seed, seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, important to both small ...

s (160,000 tonnes) and

cowpeas The cowpea (''Vigna unguiculata'') is an annual herbaceous legume from the genus ''Vigna''. Its tolerance for sandy soil and low rainfall have made it an important crop in the semiarid regions across Africa and Asia. It requires very few inputs, ...

(74,000 tonnes). Between 1982 and 1985, an attempt was made to improve the Bambara groundnut, an initiative which involved the participation of plant breeders in the Grain Legumes Programme. The country contains populations of ''

Vitellaria paradoxa ''Vitellaria paradoxa'' (formerly ''Butyrospermum parkii''), commonly known as shea tree, shi tree (), or vitellaria, is a tree of the family Sapotaceae. It is the only species in the genus ''Vitellaria'',Loranthaceae Loranthaceae, commonly known as the showy mistletoes, is a family of flowering plants. It consists of about 75 genera and 1,000 species of woody plants, many of them hemiparasites. The three terrestrial species are ''Nuytsia floribunda'' (the W ...

. Four species of

Tapinanthus Tapinanthus_oleifolius.html"_;"title="Haustorium_and_fruit_of_''Tapinanthus_oleifolius">Haustorium_and_fruit_of_''Tapinanthus_oleifolius'' file:Amethyst_sunbird,_Chalcomitra_amethystina,_female_at_Kloofendal_Nature_Reserve,_Johannesburg,_South_ ...

('' Tapinanthus dodoneifolius'','' Tapinanthus globiferus'', '' Tapinanthus ophiodes'' and '' Tapinanthus pentagonia'') are widespread all across Burkina Faso and Mali and are also subject to being affected by pests. Other trees include ''

Acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus na ...

'',

flamboyant tree ''Delonix regia'' is a species of flowering plant in the bean family Fabaceae, subfamily Caesalpinioideae native to Madagascar. It is noted for its fern-like leaves and flamboyant display of orange-red flowers over summer. In many tropical par ...

, ''

Delonix regia ''Delonix regia'' is a species of flowering plant in the bean family Fabaceae, subfamily Caesalpinioideae native to Madagascar. It is noted for its fern-like leaves and flamboyant display of orange-red flowers over summer. In many tropical par ...

'', and neem tree.

Conservation

Fauna conservation areas were first established in 1926, which included five 'parcs de refuge' that covered 536,700 ha. Global Environment Facility (GEF) in its report to the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

to promote conservation of natural habitat in Burkina Faso reported that the biodiversity species profile of Burkina Faso contains "655 wildlife species (mammals and birds); 330 aquatic species (includes 121 fish species), and 1054 plant species (751 grass, 304 tree and brush species)", based on meagre data. It was also noted that the natural habitats were found now only in parks, reserves and gazetted forests as agricultural operations dominated the scene in 70% area of the country. The

oryx ''Oryx'' is a genus consisting of four large antelope species called oryxes. Their pelage is pale with contrasting dark markings in the face and on the legs, and their long horns are almost straight. The exception is the scimitar oryx, which l ...

, cheetah, and

are reported to be totally extinct, probably includes Burkina redneck ostrich. The nearing extinction species were reported to be black and white colobus, dama gazelle,

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, a ...

and

topi ''Damaliscus lunatus jimela'' is a subspecies of topi, and is usually just called a topi. It is a highly social and fast type of antelope found in the savannas, semi-deserts, and floodplains of sub-Saharan Africa. Names The word ''tope'' or '' ...

. This alarming situation of loss of biodiversity resulted in creation of national operational strategies not only for rural development in 2001 but also for reforms in the wildlife and protected area sector in 1995 (a Forestry Code was introduced defining the National Forestry Policy and establishing 12 Wildlife Conservation Units covering the entire country in followed in 1996) and Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan in 2000 with the objective stated as to "ensure responsible management of biological diversity by the populations by 2025". In conservation and sustainable resources management efforts, the IBA Local Conservation Group with help from BirdLife Partners around the world have set up "Site Support Groups" in Burkina Faso, which was initially begun in 1959 to count birds. This resulted in the training of local volunteers as ornithologists. In 2009, Vogelwacht Utrecht, a Dutch regional volunteer birding group, supported efforts conserve migratory birds. Cambridgeshire Bird Club in the UK has also pitched in with support. However, all these efforts are concentrated at Lake Oursi (included in the

List of Ramsar wetlands of international importance This is the list of Wetlands of International Importance as defined by the Ramsar Convention for the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands, recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural, scientif ...

) and are yet to permeate to a national scale.

References

External links

United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre
{{Burkina Faso topics Biota of Burkina Faso