Burkina Faso is largely wild bush country with a mixture of grass and small trees in varying proportions. The savanna region is mainly grassland in the rainy season and semi desert during the harmattan period (defined as the period when stormy and dusty Sahara winds blow dry and hot). Fauna, one of the most diverse in West Africa, includes the elephant, hippopotamus, buffalo, monkey, lions, crocodile, giraffe, various types of antelope, and a vast variety of bird and insect life. The country has 147 mammal species, 330 aquatic species including 121 species of fish and 2067 different plant species. Of the plant species, the dominant endemic species are shea tree (Butyrospermum parkii) and the baobab, the former plant species has immense economic value to the country. Four national parks have been established. These are the Po National Park in the south-centre of the country, Arli National Park established in 1954 in the southeast, W of the Niger National Park, a trans frontier park existing since 1957 in the east bordering Benin and Niger and the Deux Balés National Park. The forests, fauna and fish have been declared part of the national estate of Burkina Faso. In addition, the List of national parks of Burkina Faso consist of one UNESCO Biosphere reserve, three complete reserves, six partial reserves and ten protected forests. However, according to conservation classification conducted between 1936 and 1957, the country has 78 protected areas that cover 38,369 km2 (14,814 sq mi), which accounts to about 14% of the area of the country.
Geography
Wildlife area in the landlocked Burkina Faso in western Africa is spread over a plateau area of 270,764 km2 (104,543 sq mi). The dominant habitat types are the grassy savanna in the north with transition to the varying thin forests in the south. In Burkina Faso forest cover is around 23% of the total land area, equivalent to 6,216,400 ha (24,002 sq mi) of forest in 2020, down from 7,716,600 ha (29,794 sq mi) in 1990. In 2020, naturally regenerating forest covered 6,039,300 ha (23,318 sq mi) and planted forest covered 177,100 ha (684 sq mi). Of the naturally regenerating forest 0% was reported to be primary forest (consisting of native tree species with no clearly visible indications of human activity) and around 16% of the forest area was found within protected areas. For the year 2015, 100% of the forest area was reported to be under public ownership. Based on ecological characteristics and climatic conditions, the country is divided under three bio-climatic zones namely, the Sahelian Zone, the Sudanian Zone and the Sudano-Guinean Zone. The Sahelian Zone covers 25% of the area of the northern part of the country, which is further subdivided under the Sahelian and sub-Sahelian sectors. In the Sahelian sector, where the rainfall is only of the order of 400 millimetres (16 in), the vegetation is mostly of shrubs and wooded grassland or steppe. The sub-Sahelian sector represents the transition zone, receives an average annual rainfall of 400–600 millimetres (16–24 in) and represents the transition between the Sahelian and Sudanian bioclimatic zones. The vegetation in this sector has moist Sudan savanna vegetation in the river valleys, while the western half is largely inhabited by humans; most of the large trees in the northern half of the sector are reported to have vanished due to climate change. The Sudan Zone receives higher rainfall in the range of 600–1,000 millimetres (24–39 in) and is further subdivided into three sectors namely, the central plateau sector, the Mouhoun sector and the Pendjari–Mékrou sector and has widely varying vegetation depending on human occupation for agriculture and mostly savanna vegetation, predominantly wooded savanna. the Pendjari–Mékrou sector with its floodplains and many ephemeral rivers, is less populated by humans but has the largest population of mammals in the country; vultures and raptors are also reported. The Sudano-Guinean Zone in the southwest corner of the country is a humid zone with an annual rainfall in the range of 1,000–1,200 millimetres (39–47 in). It is heavily wooded with wooded savannas and gallery forests; it has the ambience of a park with its widespread vegetation of Khaya senegalensis, Daniellia oliveri and Isoberlinia forests, tall grasses and savanna vegetation is also a dominant feature. Its human population distribution is low but the wildlife population is the second largest in the country. The area is drained by many rivers, the most important of them being the Black Volta (Mouhoun), the Red Volta (Nazinon), and the White Volta (Nakambé), which flow into Ghana on the south and form the Volta River.
Climate Rainy season (June to September) is one of the four seasons in Burkina Faso; the other three being, an intermediate season from September to mid November, the summer of harmattan season of the Sahara hot and stormy winds (mid February to mid June) and the dry and winter cool season from mid November to mid February. During the rainy season is when the shrubs and stunted trees flourish in the savanna in the northern region where rainfall incidence is about 10 inches and the rivers flow full with dense vegetation growing in the southern region of the country when the rainfall incidence is as high as 40 inches (1,000 mm).
National Parks There are four important national parks in Burkina Faso namely, the Arli National Park existing since 1954, the Deux Balés National Park, Kaboré Tambi National Park and the W of the Niger National Park which is a trans-boundary park existing since 1957.
Arli National Park
The Arli National Park, covering an area of 76,000 hectares (190,000 acres), lies to the southwest of Arli–W–Singou complex. It borders with Benin (the Pendjari River forms the boundary) and Singou Game Ranch on its northwest direction and has large network of drainage system which has vast flood plains. Within the park boundary, the Falaise de Gobnangou is a prominent hill feature with cliffs that extends over 50 kilometres (31 mi) from the southwest to the northeast. The park also has many inselbergs. Shrub and tree-savanna (extensive growth of Isoberlinia doka) in the non-flooded areas, Mitragyna inermis with gallery forests in seasonally flooded areas, baobab Adansonia digitata trees near old village sites are some of the vegetation types found in the park.
Deux Balés National Park
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