Ivindo National Park

"Situated on the equator in northern Gabon" (Official description)

Critically Endangered Forest Elephant

Crit X: "The old-growth forests of the nominated property boast a rich biodiversity, including important and stable populations of threatened mammals and birds. These include ...the Endangered Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes)" (AB ev)

the Critically Endangered Slender-snouted Crocodile (Mecistops cataphractus) finds shelter in the Djidji River (AB ev)

Situated in the lower Guinean Rainforest zone (AB ev)

126 species of mammals (OUV Crit X)

Spotted-necked otter (Hydrictis maculicollis) and Congo clawless otter (Aonyx congicus) (Nomination file, p. 32)

"INP's megafauna benefits from natural swampy clearings of great ecological importance. These marshy clearings are relict herbaceous ecosystems that add to the diversity of the nominated property's vegetation." (AB Ev) In the Langoué basin, there is a vast marshy clearing or baï that occupies a valley floor. Small clearings of the same type exist further north in the NP and in several places just outside the park. These environments are marshes, even permanent marshes. They are of course drier in the dry season, but never disappear. (Nomination file, p. 29)

"Ivindo National Park (...) boasts biogeographically unique Caesalpinioideae old-growth forests of high conservation value". (Official description) The presence of old-growth terra firma forests is an important factor in describing the OUV of the NP. These very old forests, also called primary forests, represent a characteristic stage in the evolution of forests in Central Africa. They are very rare in Gabon and in West Central Africa in general. (Nomination file, p. 54-55)

three species of Pangolin (AB ev)

Western Lowland Gorilla; wild gorillas regularly can be seen at Langoue Baï

Kongou Falls - with a flow rate of 900 it is #17 in the world

Western Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla)

See www.iucnredlist.org

African forest buffalo (Nomination file, p. 60)

"The site's aquatic habitats harbour endemic freshwater fish species, 13 of which are threatened". (Official description) The waters of the Ivindo are home to a swarm of about fifteen species of fish of the genus Paramormyrops (Mormyridae), the only swarm of species found in the world in rivers and belonging to this family. (Executive summary, p. 7)

"Ivindo River hosts a dozen species of weakly electrogenic fishes of the genus Paramormyrops (Mormyridae) whose speciation in the Ivindo River is a unique biological phenomenon". "The rivers of Gabon provide crucial habitat to one of the world's best examples of remarkable speciation in flowing waters." (AB Ev)

Guinean forest

Chutes et Rapides sur Ivindo

See rsis.ramsar.org

"There is strong evidence that forest cover was reduced during the last Ice Age, lasting from 1.6 million to 10,000 years ago. While forested areas in the Congo River Basin are known to have persisted in some areas called refugia..........About 10,000 years ago, as the last Ice Age ended, glaciers receded and rainfall increased. The changing climate allowed savannas to be reclaimed by trees, and the forest grew to reach its current size."

See www.wwf-congobasin.org

“Tourism and levels of visitation remain very low for the time being, with less than 200 people visiting annually prior to Covid-19.” (AB ev)

Ivindo River