World Heritage Site

Mount Richar

Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve

Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve is a protected area and UNESCO World Heritage Site located in both Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire, extending over a total of area of 17,540 hectares, with 12,540 hectares in Guinea, and 5,000 hectares in Côte d’Ivoire. The reserve covers signifi cant portions of the Nimba Range, a geographically unique area with unusually rich fl ora and fauna, including exceptional numbers of single-site endemic species, such as viviparous toads, and horseshoe bats. Its highest peak is Mount Richard-Molard at 1,752 m (5,750 ft), which is the highest peak of both countries. The strict nature reserve was established in 1943 by Order No. 4190 SE/F in Côte d’Ivoire and in 1944 by decree in Guinea. The Guinean part was accepted as a biosphere reserve in 1980. Both reserves were combined to form one World Heritage Site in 1981 (Guinea) and 1982 (Côte d’Ivoire). For the sake of an improved protection, a conservation management centre

rd-Molard Oil Palm plantation within a protected forest (Maritime Guinea) West African Lion Pygmy Hippopotamus

Zebra Duiker

is being built by Guinean Parks Foundation (www.facebook.com/guineanparks). The project was approved by the Guinean Government and CEGENS in 2016.

Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve lies within

Guinean Forests of West Africa Biodiversity

Hotspot. It harbours an especially rich fl ora and fauna, and it is the home of more than 2,000 vascular plant species, 317 vertebrate species, 107 of which are mammals, and to more than 2,500 invertebrate species. The reserve is a subject of biological surveys, because there are still large numbers of unknown species. Notably endemic vertebrates are Nimba viviparous toad (Nimbaphrynoides occidentalis), Lamotte’s roundleaf bat (Hipposideros lamottei), and Nimba otter shrew (Micropotamogale lamottei). Other rare and endangered animals are West African lion (Panthera leo senegalensis), pygmy hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis), zebra duiker (Cephalophus zebra), and western chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus) that uses stones as tools. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Nimba_ Strict_Nature_Reserve Image credit: blogspot.com, www.ebay.com