List of national parks of Cameroon
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The protected areas of Cameroon include national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, faunal reserves, and one flora sanctuary. Many protected areas in Cameroon are still in pristine condition, mostly because there is less tourism in Cameroon than other regions of Africa. According to reported statistics, there were ten protected areas from 1932 to 1960. Six protected areas were added between 1960 and 1980, five more were added between 1980 and 2004, and eight protected areas are under consideration within a final approval process.


National parks

19 national parks have been established in Cameroon."Cameroon". ''Protected Planet''. Accessed 15 June 2020
/ref> * Bakossi National Park (293 km2), est. 2007 *
Bénoué National Park Bénoué National Park is a national park of Cameroon and a UNESCO designated Biosphere Reserve. It is in size. The park has a wide frontage to the Bénoué River, which stretches for over , forming the eastern boundary. The public road to Tcho ...
(1,979 km2), est. 1968 *
Bouba Njida National Park Bouba Njida National Park is a List of national parks of Cameroon, national park of Cameroon. A total of 23 antelope species occur in the park. The painted hunting dog, ''Lycaon pictus'', had been observed in Bouba Njida National Park at the start ...
(2,114 km2), est. 1968 * Boumba Bek National Park (2,362 km2), est. 2005 * Campo Ma'an National Park (2609.44 km2), est. 2000 * Deng Deng National Park (687.35 km2), est. 2013 *
Douala Edéa National Park Douala-Edéa National Park, formerly known as Douala-Edéa Wildlife Reserve, is a national park in the Littoral Region of Cameroon. Location The park is located on either side of the mouth of the Sanaga River along the shores of the Bight of Bi ...
(2715 km2), est. 2018 * Faro National Park (3,500 km2), est. 2008 * Kimbi-Fungom National Park (989.8 km2), est. 2015 * Korup National Park (1,261 km2), est. 1986 * Lobéké National Park (2153 km2), est. 2001 *
Mbam Djerem National Park The Mbam Djerem National Park is found in Cameroon. It was established in 2000 and covers . Overview A protected area was created in January 2000 in this ecosystem in the centre of Cameroon, and named the Mbam Djerem National Park. It covers 420 ...
(4290.88 km2), est. 2000 *
Mbéré Valley National Park The Mbéré Valley National Park is a national park in eastern-central Cameroon. Location The park is located in the Mbéré department of the Adamawa Region. The western and northern borders form the river Koudini. From there, the River Bil ...
(740.96 km2), est. 2004 *
Mount Cameroon National Park Mount Cameroon is an active volcano in the South West region of Cameroon next to the city of Buea near the Gulf of Guinea. Mount Cameroon is also known as Cameroon Mountain or Fako (the name of the higher of its two peaks) or by its indigenous n ...
(581 km2), est. 2009 * Mozogo-Gokoro National Park (14 km2), est. 1968 *
Mpem and Djim National Park Mpem and Djim National Park is a protected area in Cameroon. The park was designated by the government of Cameroon in 2004, and covers an area of 974.8 km2. Geography The park is located in Cameroon's Centre Region. The park is bounded by the M ...
(975 km2), est. 2004 *
Nki National Park Nki National Park (Parc national de Nki, also Réserve de Nki) is a national park in southeastern Cameroon, located in its East Province. The closest towns to Nki are Yokadouma, Moloundou and Lomie, beyond which are rural lands. Due to its remot ...
(3130 km2), est. 2005 *
Takamanda National Park The Takamanda National Park is a protected area in Cameroon, set up in 2008 to help protect the endangered Cross River gorilla The Cross River gorilla (''Gorilla gorilla diehli'') is a critically endangered subspecies of the western gorilla ( ...
(627 km2), est. 2008 * Tchabal Mbabo National Park (1067.62 km2), est. 2008 * Waza National Park (1405.89 km2), est. 1968


Bénoué National Park

Bénoué National Park was first established as a faunal reserve in 1932. It was upgraded to national park status in 1968, and in 1981, it became a biosphere reserve. Its habitat is in the Bénoué savanna belt, a humid savannah woodland area. The park encompasses an area of in size and has a wide frontage to the
Bénoué River The Benue River (french: la Bénoué), previously known as the Chadda River or Tchadda, is the major tributary of the Niger River. The river is approximately long and is almost entirely navigable during the summer months. The size of its bas ...
. The main river flowing through the park is the
Bénoué River The Benue River (french: la Bénoué), previously known as the Chadda River or Tchadda, is the major tributary of the Niger River. The river is approximately long and is almost entirely navigable during the summer months. The size of its bas ...
, which stretches for over , forming the eastern boundary. The park's altitude ranges from
above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...
. The higher elevations are characterized by large rocky massifs, while the undulating plain and forest characterizes the lower sections. Eight hunting reserves, totaling , surround the park except along the main road. Access to the park from the north is from Ngaoundéré. Wildlife reported from the park consists of elephants,
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 ...
, water buck, warthog, monkeys, large ungulates such as
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 ...
, the Derby eland (Africa's largest antelope),
kob The kob (''Kobus kob'') is an antelope found across Central Africa and parts of West Africa and East Africa. Together with the closely related reedbucks, waterbucks, lechwe, Nile lechwe, and puku, it forms the Reduncinae tribe. Found along the ...
, western hartebeest, Lord Derby's eland and waterbuck and buffalo. The African wild dog is also present here. The hippopotamus colonies and
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 ...
are common in the rivers. As an
Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...
according to recent surveys 306 species have been identified. In the dry season, sandbars exposed by fluctuating levels of the sandy Bénoué River provide habitat for plover and other waterbirds.


Bouba Njida National Park

Bouba Njida National Park covers an area of 220,000 hectares (540,000 acres). Initially it was established as a reserve in 1932. It was upgraded to level of park in 1980. The park is reported habitat is of savannah forest and the average elevation varies from 251 to 864 m. The park receives an average annual rainfall of 1082 mm. The park is categorized under IUCN II. The painted hunting dog (''Lycaon pictus'') considered critically endangered by
IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...
has a count of 60 within Cameroon and they are reported from this park apart from two other national parks in the country. A total of 23 antelope species occur in the park. A serious problem of elephant poaching by Sudanese from across the border through Chad has been reported in February 2012 to the extent of nearly 450 elephants killed out of a total population of about 600 in the park. To combat this problem, Cameroon has deployed helicopters and 600 soldiers to control elephant poaching in its parks.


Boumba Bek National Park

Boumba Bek National Park encompasses an area of 210,000 hectares (520,000 acres). In 1995, the park was named an Essential Protection Zone and on 17 October 2005 it was declared a national park. The park lies between the Boumba and
Bek River Bek or BEK may refer to: People * Khagan Bek, the title of the king of the Khazars * Beck (Bek David Campbell; born 1970), Beck Hansen, American singer, songwriter, and musician * Bek (sculptor) or Bak, an ancient Egyptian sculptor * Bruce Eric ...
s in southeast Cameroon, from which it derives its name. The park has a tropical climate with temperature ranging from 23.1 to 25˚C with an average annual temperature of 24˚C. Its relative humidity varies between 60 and 90% while annual rainfall is 1500 mm per year. It encompasses a rich biodiversity of plants and animals. The habitat consists of evergreen lowland rainforest, along with several patches of closed-canopy evergreen forest. Elephant density of 2.5 km2 in the park is reported to be one of the highest. However poaching for elephant ivory and
meat Meat is animal flesh that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted, farmed, and scavenged animals for meat since prehistoric times. The establishment of settlements in the Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of animals such as chic ...
are taking their toll in the park area. 300 fish species are also reported. Endangered gorillas are reported from the park. 280 bird species are reported in the park including the rare Dja warbler.


Campo Ma'an National Park

Campo Ma'an National Park covers an area of 264,064 hectare and was established in 2000. The combined area for the national park and the buffer zone surrounding the park is approximately 700,000 hectares.Campo-Ma’an National Park, Cameroon
fro
WWF
Accessed December 2009.
The Campo Wildlife Reserve established in 1932 and the Ma’an Production Reserve set up in 1980 were combined to form this park in the year 2000 as a compensation for the damage caused to the ecosystem due laying of the oil pipe line in Cameroon. The park area includes four logging concessions, an agro-forestry zone, and an agro-industrial zone known for rubber and palms. The biodiversity of the area has wide range of plants and animals species including several taxonomic endemics. The mammal species reported are 87 including elephants, lowland gorillas,
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 ...
s, hippos, giant pangolins, black colobus, mandrills and leopards. Reptile species reported are 127, and fish species are 250. It is also one of the 33
Bird Identified Areas Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweight s ...
(BIAs) in the south western corner of Cameroon, bordering with Equatorial Guinea on the south and the Atlantic Ocean to its west and has 302 bird species. The park is subject to many threats to its ecosystem mainly due to logging, poaching, agricultural activities and coastal development


Douala Edéa National Park

Douala Edéa National Park is located in the Littoral Region of Cameroon, on either side of the mouth of the Sanaga River on the shore of the Bight of Biafra, opposite the island of Bioko. The reserve was established in 1932. As of 2000, it covered 160,000 hectares (400,000 acres). Cameroon designated the reserve as a wildlife park for scientific purposes in 1971, Lake Tissongo, a lagoon connected to the south bank of the Sanaga river by a 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) tidal channel, is included in the park. 80% of the reserve is covered by tropical lowland equatorial forest, and 15% by Atlantic mangrove forests. Fauna include forest elephants, primates (chimpanzees, monkey species such as black colobus), antelopes (sitatunga, blue duiker, etc.), West African manatees, sea turtles, dolphins, crocodiles, alligator, many fish species, terrestrial and water bird species. The red-capped mangabey was reported to be common in the reserve in 1972. The endangered red-eared nose-spotted guenon was reported in the Lombé part of the park in densities of 2-3 groups per square kilometers, but populations had dropped elsewhere due to hunting.


Faro National Park

Faro National Park covers an area of 330,000 hectares (820,000 acres). Initially it was established as a reserve in 1947. It was upgraded to level of park in 1968. Its habitat consists largely of Sudanian savanna in topography with elevation between 250 m and 500 m. It is close to the Nigerian border, surrounded on the eastern side by several hunting reserves. Plant species reported are 243 species with more of Sudan–Guinea Savanna biome species. It is home to cheetahs, elephants, and is known for its colonies of hippopotamuses. It used to house the last representatives of the western subspecies of the black rhinoceros, but this species is now considered extirpated from the area, and extinct. Mammals also reported by IUCN include ''
Taurotragus derbianus The giant eland (''Taurotragus derbianus''), also known as the Lord Derby eland and greater eland, is an open-forest and savanna antelope. A species of the family Bovidae and genus ''Taurotragus'', it was described in 1847 by John Edward Gray. ...
'' and ''
Damaliscus lunatus korrigum The korrigum (''Damaliscus lunatus korrigum''), also known as Senegal hartebeest, is a subspecies of the topi, a large African antelope. Taxonomy An 1822–1824 British expedition across the Sahara to the ancient kingdom of Bornu, returned with ...
'' (VU), and a few ''Loxodonta africana'' (EN).


Korup National Park

Korup National Park covers an area of . It was a reserve in 1962 which was upgraded to the status of a park in 1982. The park is located on the western border of Cameroon. Its habitat covers lowland rainforest which is biologically very diverse. Also included are swamp forests, a small area of secondary forests and sub-montane forest of the Mount Juahan (highest mountain in the park). Botanical and
mycological Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their genetic and biochemical properties, their taxonomy and their use to humans, including as a source for tinder, traditional medicine, food, and entheogens, as w ...
inventory has been carried out. The average annual rainfall reported for the park is over and the average temperature is with average humidity of 86%. It is rich in biodiversity of plants, animals and fungi. Plants reported are 400 tree species, which includes
ectomycorrhizal An ectomycorrhiza (from Greek ἐκτός ', "outside", μύκης ', "fungus", and ῥίζα ', "root"; pl. ectomycorrhizas or ectomycorrhizae, abbreviated EcM) is a form of symbiotic relationship that occurs between a fungal symbiont, or mycobi ...
and ceaesalpinaceous
legumes A legume () is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seed of such a plant. When used as a dry grain, the seed is also called a pulse. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption, for livestock fo ...
. Undergrowth is not dense in the canopy forest areas. The park survey has revealed 76
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