Cameroon - Waza National Park

Created by decree of 05 December 1968 the Waza National Park (PNW) is located in the Logone Department and Chari, Far North Province. It covers an area of ​​170 000 ha. It is characterized by the Sudano-Sahelian, semi-arid and tropical climate with a rainy season and a dry season. The rainy season runs from June to October while the dry season goes from November to May. Rainfall is irregular with an annual average of 600 mm. There are no permanent watercourses draining the park, only artificial pools of water serve as watering points for the animals. The temperature varies between 15 and 48C. Two main types of soils dominate the park; sandy soils and clay soils. With an overall elevation varying between 300 and 340 m, the PNW is also characterized by two types of vegetation: - vegetation of the floodplain (yeasts) dominated by grasses such as: Hyparrhenia rufa, Sorghum arundinaceum, Echinochloa pyramidalis , Penisetum ramosum, Vetiveria nigritana and Oriza longistaminata. - so-called forest vegetation dominated by four types of savannas: • Combretaceous savannah on ferruginous soils • Savannah in Anogeissus on leached soils • Shrub savanna in Lannea humilis on planosols • Shrub savanna with Acacia seyal on vertisols On the faunal plan, there are 379 species birds including the ostrich and 30 species of mammals, including giraffe, hyena, cobs, leopard, elephant, etc. The PNW receives more than 20,000 waterbirds each year. Finally, the park has a development plan that provides planning for the activities to be carried out.