Korup National Park
| Korup National Park | |
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IUCN category II (national park)
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Mana suspension bridge – Official entrance
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| Location | Southwest Province, Cameroon, Cameroon |
| Nearest city | Mundemba |
| Coordinates | 5°5′N 8°50′E / 5.083°N 8.833°ECoordinates: 5°5′N 8°50′E / 5.083°N 8.833°E |
| Area | 1,260 km2 (490 sq mi) |
| Established | 1986 |
| Governing body | Cameroon Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife (MINFOF) |
Korup National Park is in the Southwest Province of Cameroon and extends over 1,260 km2 of mostly undisturbed primary forest. It is reputedly one of Africa’s oldest and richest rainforests in terms of floral and faunal diversity. It is the most accessible rainforest national park in Cameroon with basic lodging infrastructure and a large network of trails open to visitors. The park is a popular birdwatching destination and famous for primate viewing (including species such as the drill, Preuss's red colobus, red-eared guenon and Nigeria chimpanzee). Researchers from various disciplines have been conducting biological studies in Korup for over three decades, generating a wealth of information on rainforest ecosystems.
The Korup National Park is in the Southwest Province of Cameroon between in ahaus N and 8°42’ to 9°16’ E. It is 50 km inland from the Bight of Biafra, 20 km from the edge of the mangrove swamps of the Rio Del Rey estuary and partially borders Nigeria. It extends over 1,260 km2 of mainly lowland rainforest and is adjacent to the Ejagham Forest Reserve to the north and the Oban Hills Division of Nigeria's Cross River National Park to the west. Near but not contiguous to the park are the Rumpi Hills and Nta Ali Forest Reserves.
The area was originally set aside as a forest reserve in 1937. In 1986, Korup was declared a national park by Presidential Decree No.86-1283 after a ten-year campaign led by Dr. J Stephen Gartlan, Phil Agland and the Earthlife Foundation. Phil Agland's award-winning film Korup: An African Rainforest, broadcast on British Television in November 1982 and subsequently around the world, brought the ecology of Korup to an international audience and spearheaded the campaign that was to secure the first British Government contribution of £440,000 through the ODA to rainforest conservation in 1986. In 1987, the Korup Project, an internationally funded integrated conservation and development project, provided support to the newly established park. The Korup Project area included a support zone and the forest reserves of Ejagham, Nta Ali and Rumpi Hills. In 2003, the Korup Project ended, leaving the Korup National Park management with little to no financial and logistical support. This affected the park management's ability to efficiently protect the wildlife from illegal hunting. As of 2006 however, Korup National Park is one of the three focus areas of the "Program of Sustainable Management of Natural Resources – South-West Province" (PSMNR-SWP), a bilateral cooperation between the Governments of Cameroon and Germany. With the renewed attention and support granted to Korup National Park, anti-poaching patrols have been becoming regular once again. As a partner in PSMNR-SWP, WWF-Cameroon has an advisory role on conservation and environmental education in Korup region, while the German Development Service (DED) oversees rural sustainable development activities.
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Wikipedia