The Dzanga-Sangha Complex of Protected Areas (DSPAC) (originally: Dzanga-Sangha Project) is a protected area in the extreme southwestern

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 ...

. The dense forest block, created in 1990, measures . It consists of the

Dzanga-Sangha Special Reserve The Dzanga-Sangha Special Reserve (also known as Dzanga-Sangha Forest Reserve, or Dzanga-Sangha Forest Special Reserve, Dzanga-Sangha Baï, or Dzanga-Sangha Special Forest Reserve) is a protected reserve of southwestern Central African Republic. I ...

and the Dzanga Ndoki National Park which has two sectors, the Dzanga Park and the Ndoki Park. Since their gazetting, management of the park and the reserve has been under the Dzanga-Sangha project, a collaborative effort of the country's government, the GTZ/LUSO, a German technical agency, and the

World Wildlife Fund The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wo ...

. Financial and technical assistance have been provided by the German and United States governments, 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 ...

, and several private organizations and donors.

Geography and climate

The Dzanga-Sangha Complex of Protected Areas is located in the extreme southwest of the Central African Republic in a triangular-shaped part of the country. The Dzanga-Sangha rainforest is the second largest on earth, covering over of moist tropical forest. The main river running through this region is the

Sangha River The Sangha River, a tributary of the Congo River, is located in Central Africa. Geography The Sangha River is formed at the confluence of the Mambéré River and the Kadéï River at Nola, Central African Republic, Nola in the western Central Af ...

. The precise border between the Central African Republic,

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 the Republic of Congo is located at (in the Sangha River). Ndoki Park is located furthest south in the lowest triangular-shaped part and forms the border among these countries. The average annual rainfall is 1400–1500 mm and the average temperature is between 24 and 29 °C. The most precipitation in the area falls in the long rainy season from October to November, and in the short rainy season between May and June.

Flora and fauna

Predominant vegetation consists of semi-deciduous, evergreen, flooded, swampy forests. Monodominant forests also exist of ''Gilbetiodendron dewevrei''. The most important observed species include the

Euphorbiaceae Euphorbiaceae, the spurge family, is a large family of flowering plants. In English, they are also commonly called euphorbias, which is also the name of a genus in the family. Most spurges, such as ''Euphorbia paralias'', are herbs, but some, e ...

Rubiaceae The Rubiaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the coffee, madder, or bedstraw family. It consists of terrestrial trees, shrubs, lianas, or herbs that are recognizable by simple, opposite leaves with interpetiolar stipules ...

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

, and

Annonaceae The Annonaceae are a Family (biology), family of flowering plants consisting of trees, shrubs, or rarely lianas commonly known as the custard apple family or soursop family. With 108 accepted genera and about 2400 known species, it is the largest ...

. Others that are well represented include the Caeasalpiniaceae,

Meliaceae Meliaceae, the mahogany family, is a flowering plant family of mostly trees and shrubs (and a few herbaceous plants, mangroves) in the order Sapindales. They are characterised by alternate, usually pinnate leaves without stipules, and by syncar ...

Sterculiaceae Sterculiaceae was a family of flowering plant based on the genus ''Sterculia''. Genera formerly included in Sterculiaceae are now placed in the family Malvaceae, in the subfamilies: Byttnerioideae, Dombeyoideae, Helicteroideae and Sterculioideae. A ...

and Ebenaceae. Near villages can be found patches of savannah as well as forest exploitation roads. The DSPAC forests around the

are differentiated in their composition and structure. They are characterised by the presence of monodominant patches of ''Gilbertiodendron dewevrei'' stands, with relatively low values for the mean number of trees per hectare when compared with other areas of the region. Conversely, field observations find that these forests display some of the highest concentrations of animal species per hectare as compared with other areas of the region. The varied ecosystems are a habitat source for very high concentrations of

African 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 should ...

gorilla 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 ...

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 ...

, bongo, and Cape Buffalo.

Protection

Within the DSCPA, subsistence hunting is allowed in the special reserve, but all forms of exploitation, except tourism and scientific research, are prohibited in the national park. Commercial timber exploitation occurred in the DSCPA in the 1970s and 1980s.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dzanga-Sangha Complex Of Protected Areas Protected areas of the Central African Republic Protected areas established in 1990 Sangha-Mbaéré Sangha River