Banco National Park

Banco National Park is a national park in Côte d'Ivoire located along Highway North in the district of Attécoubé (Abidjan). It is the only primary dense tropical forest located in the heart of an urban area, alongside the Tijuca National Park in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.

It has an area of 34.74 km2.

History
The national parks and nature reserves in Côte d'Ivoire were created to preserve and conserve forest resources in their natural state. In 1926 the Banco forest was given the status of a forest station.

The Banco forest station became the Banco National Park in 1953. Then in 1966 the Park acquired the status of permanent forest estate of the State by the law 66-433 of September 15 1966 and a decree on the status and regulation of the procedure of classification of integral natural reserves and national parks.

For reasons of electricity transport in the city of Abidjan, a corridor was opened in the northeastern part of the park, at the request of the national electricity company to house high voltage lines in 1978. This notch is 1.7 km long and 0.15 km wide, giving the park the configuration of a horn. Over time, this horn was called the Triangle de Sagbé, because of its proximity to the Abobo-Sagbé district, located to the north.

Description
The Banco National Park is located in the heart of Abidjan, at the junction of the communes of Abobo, Yopougon, Adjamé and Attécoubé. It is located in a square of 7.8 km on each side and covers an area of 3473.55 ha with a perimeter of 25.58 km and extends over the former customary domain of the Atié villages of Andokoi and Ebrié of Anonkoua-Kouté and Agba.

The Banco National Park is the second largest urban park in the world after Rio de Janeiro.

It has a hydraulic reservoir and houses in its center a primary forest of 600 hectares, with wood species that have become rare (like mahogany and avodire). It is also an essential hydraulic reservoir for the city of Abidjan, which feeds 29 boreholes from its water table that captures 90,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year and provides 40% of the drinking water distributed in Abidjan.

In the middle of the national park flows a river called Gbangbo which means "refreshing water source" in Ebrié.

There are hiking trails and 80 km of bike paths.

Wildlife
Initially, the Banco National Park was notable for its richness in animal species, including the harnessed guib (an antelope), duikers (herbivorous mammals), primates, suids (hylochere, bushpig) and a large number of bird species. Today, the harnessed guib, a few species of monkeys, a dozen chimpanzees, and bird species remain, some of which are threatened with extinction.

According to a study done in 2004 and 2005, a dozen chimpanzees are believed to still live in the park.

Security
The Banco National Park is currently threatened by illegal logging and poaching, uncontrolled urbanization, and residents dumping their waste in the woods, according to officials. To protect the park, the construction in 2022 of a 10 km long wall was launched.

It was created to shield against the advance of the urbanization that already cut on its surface. This curtain of bricks is a wall 2.5 meters high and more than 8 kilometers long. It is intended to girdle the park. It will be realized in two stages: the first portion of 4,400 meters, and a second portion of 4,500 meters.

Maintenance of the park costs 200 million CFA francs per year (305,000 euros).

Legal status
Article 1 of Law 2002-102 of February 11, 2002 on the creation, management and financing of national parks and nature reserves in Côte d'Ivoire, states that a "national park" is an area:


 * Under the control of the state, the boundaries of which may not be changed, nor any part of which may be alienated, except by the appropriate legislative authority;


 * exclusively for the propagation, protection, conservation and management of vegetation and wildlife populations, and for the protection of sites, landscapes or geological formations of special scientific or aesthetic value, in the interest and for the recreation of the public.
 * The law establishes the status and management of the parks and reserves.

The statutes and management procedures for parks and reserves are set out in this law. The penalties incurred by persons who violate the law on the conservation of protected areas are clearly defined in Articles 70 to 75.

Gallery
Banco National Park