Manovo-Gounda St Floris National Park is a national park in the Central African Republic. It comprises vast savannahs rich in all forms of wildlife including the black rhinoceros, elephants, cheetas, leopards, wild dogs, red-fronted gazelles and buffaloes, as well as many types of water birds. The national park was inscribed as a World Heritage Site during the 12th session of the World Heritage Committee which met in Brasilia, Brazil, on 5-9 December, 1988. The inscribed national park covers an area of 1,740,000 hectares.
In 1997 Manovo-Gounda St Floris National Park was added into the list of World Heritage in Danger. This is due to serious problem of poaching by heavily armed groups within the national park. In 1997 four park staff were killed by poachers. By then, 80% of the wildlife at Manovo-Gounda St Floris has been taken by poachers. The poor level of security in the area has stemmed the flow of tourists into the park, and the 10-year conservation project, financed by the European Union, at a cost of US$27 million, is not showing any tangible results.
The Government of the Central African Republic is assigning the management of Manovo-Gounda St Floris National Park to a private Foundation, a move that is welcomed by the World Heritage Committee. In placing the national park on the list of World Heritage in Danger, the Committee wanted the World Heritage Centre and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to work with the government of Central African Republic and the assigned Foundation to prepare a state of conservation report and rehabilitation plan.
As of 2009, the national park remains on the list of World Heritage in Danger. This in part is due to the Government of Central African Republic failing to submit a report on the state of conservation of the park as requested by the World Heritage Committee during its 32nd session in Quebec City in 2008. The Committee expressed its deep concern that the national park is in danger of losing its Outstanding Universal Value if no urgent corrective measures are taken.
World Heritage Site Inscription Details
Location: N 9 0 0 E 21 30 0
Inscription Year: 1988
Type of Site: Natural
Inscription Criteria: IX, X
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