Conservation Initiative for Niokolo-Koba National Park

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The Global Environment Facility (GEF) approved US$1.26 million for a new conservation project in Niokolo-Koba National Park, Senegal.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is leading this important wildlife protection effort.

Niokolo-Koba National Park is a legally protected wildlife sanctuary, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and an international Biosphere Reserve.
The park covers nearly 913,000 hectares of land in West Africa.
It preserves one of the largest and most important remaining Sudanian savanna ecosystems in the region.

The park is located in southeastern Senegal, right near the border with Guinea.
Its huge borders cover three main regional departments of Senegal: Kédougou, Tambacounda, and Kolda.

In 1925, the government first set up the area as a controlled hunting reserve to stop rapid game depletion.
In 1954, authorities officially upgraded the area and declared it a National Park under state protection.
In 1981, the park gained recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its outstanding biodiversity.
In 2007, UNESCO placed the park on the List of World Heritage in Danger because of poaching, mining, and dam projects.
In 2024, following strong anti-poaching work and environmental fixes, UNESCO officially removed the park from the Danger List.

The upper Gambia River and its tributaries, Sereko and Niokolo, flow directly through the park.
Permanent waterholes and marshes give animals vital water during the dry season.
The landscape features low-lying plains, rugged volcanic hills, and crystalline uplands.
Mount Assirik stands proudly as the highest point inside the park.
The park protects Sudanian savanna ecosystems, including open woodlands, bamboo forests, gallery forests, and marshy depressions.
An invasive shrub named Mimosa pigra is spreading quickly and harming native grasslands.

The park protects more than 70 mammal species and 329 bird species.
Rare animals living here include the critically endangered Western Giant Eland, elephants, lions, leopards, chimpanzees, and wild dogs.
The forests and wetlands protect the upper Gambia River basin and help regulate water flow.
These natural areas reduce floods and support downstream farming across West Africa.