Bangui, August 20, 2025 – Anyone who looks only at the headlines misses the quiet sensation of the Central African Republic: a dense network of national parks and protected areas where some of Central Africa’s most pristine landscapes have been preserved. The official list comprises five national parks—flanked by game reserves, strictly protected nature reserves, and special zones.
The CAR currently lists five national parks: André Félix, Bamingui–Bangoran, Dzanga–Ndoki, Mbaéré-Bodingué, and St Floris. Together, the national parks cover around 32,300 km² of protected land—a vast corridor for wildlife and a buffer against habitat loss.
André Félix National Park – located in the far northeast, part of a transboundary ecosystem.
Bamingui–Bangoran National Park – an extensive mosaic of savanna and woodland in the north-central region.
Dzanga–Ndoki National Park – world-renowned for forest “bai” clearings and dense rainforests in the southwest.
Mbaéré-Bodingué National Park – a younger protected area that completes the network in the south.
St Floris National Park – widely referred to as Manovo-Gounda St. Floris in international literature; the area, a unique savanna–forest mosaic, is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Alongside the national parks, five game reserves (Aouk Aoukale, Nana Barya, Ouandjia-Vakaga, Yata-Ngaya, Zemongo) support wildlife migration corridors. They are complemented by two nature reserves—including the Chinko Nature Reserve—as well as the Dzanga-Sangha Special Reserve as a central buffer zone in the Sangha Basin. Together, these areas form a fine-meshed conservation mosaic that stretches from rainforest to dry savannas.
The national parks safeguard biodiversity: the breadth of habitats allows rainforest and savanna species to coexist—from forest elephants to savanna ungulates. Large tracts of forest store carbon and provide a global lever that only functions in intact landscapes. Finally, several of these areas lie along international borders or are embedded in transboundary initiatives—a key to effective protection.
The national parks of the Central African Republic are ecologically far more than dots on a map. The country holds a portfolio of natural treasures of continental significance—from the Sangha rainforests to the dry savannas. Where protection management, financing, and regional cooperation take hold, a pathway emerges that can connect biodiversity, climate benefits, and nature-compatible development.
The largest park of the Central African savannas—and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1988, unfortunately on the List of World Heritage in Danger since 1997. Area: 17,400 km²; designated a national park in 1979. The landscape is shaped by broad floodplains, thorn and dry savannas, and gallery forests. Species historically recorded range from Kordofan giraffes and elephants to lions; its designation as an Important Bird Area (IBA) underscores its value for waterbirds. Current conservation measures emphasize partnerships with WCS and UNESCO.
A dual status makes this area stand out: a national park (11,191 km², designated 1933) and, at the same time, a UNESCO MAB Biosphere Reserve with an even larger surrounding zone (16,220 km²; MAB designation 1979). Landscapes range from dry savannas and deciduous woodlands to gallery forests along the Bamingui and Bangoran rivers—a classic transition biome at the interface between the Sahel and the Congo Basin.
The CAR’s best-known rainforest park: 1,143 km², designated 1990. Famous for the Dzanga Bai, an open, mineral-rich forest clearing where dozens of forest elephants gather daily—documented by scientists for decades. Dzanga-Ndoki is part of the Sangha Trinational World Heritage site (together with Lobéké/Cameroon and Nouabalé-Ndoki/Republic of the Congo) and is surrounded by a larger protection complex that includes the Dzanga-Sangha Special Reserve.
A more recent building block in the protection network: designated 2007, area roughly 866 km². The park interlaces rainforest, seasonally flooded forest, and savannas between the Mbaéré and Bodingué rivers—creating ideal habitats for elephants, gorillas, chimpanzees, buffalo, and a very rich avifauna (≥ 400 species).
Transboundary in significance: the park adjoins Radom National Park in Sudan and preserves a north–south gradient from open savanna–woodland to denser forest. Designated 1960.
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