Sangha Trinational is a forest divided between the nations of
Central African Republic
The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...
,
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 C ...
and
Congo-Brazzaville
The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...
. It was added as 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
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
in 2012 because of its outstanding biodiversity and unique biological communities.
The site includes 3 contiguous national parks within the humid tropical forests of Central Africa:
Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park
Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park is a national park in the Republic of the Congo. Established in 1993, in the northern provinces of Congo, it is home to forest elephants, great apes, including western lowland gorillas and the eastern sub-species of ...
in Congo,
Lobéké National Park
Lobéké National Park (alternate: Lake Lobake National Park) is a national park of southeastern Cameroon within the Moloundou Arrondissement of East Province. Located in the Congo Basin, it is bounded on the east by the Sangha River which serve ...
in Cameroon, and
Dzanga-Ndoki National Park
The Dzanga-Ndoki National Park is located in the southwestern extremity of the Central African Republic. Established in 1990, the national park is . The national park is split into two non-continuous sectors, the northern Dzanga sector (or Dzanga ...
in Central African Republic. The large size of the site and the relatively limited amount of deforestation within the three parks has allowed populations of vulnerable species such as
African forest elephants,
gorillas
Gorillas are herbivorous, predominantly ground-dwelling great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or fi ...
,
sitatunga
The sitatunga or marshbuck (''Tragelaphus spekii'') is a swamp-dwelling antelope found throughout central Africa, centering on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, parts of Southern Sudan, Equatorial Guinea, ...
, 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 ...
to thrive.
In addition, populations of critically endangered plant species such as
Mukulungu are protected within the site's borders.
References
{{reflist
World Heritage Sites in the Central African Republic
World Heritage Sites in the Republic of the Congo
World Heritage Sites in Cameroon
Forests of Cameroon
Geography of the Republic of the Congo
Sangha-Mbaéré
Sangha River