Central African Republic

The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the south, the Republic of the Congo to the southwest, and Cameroon to the west.  The Central African Republic covers a land area of about 620,000 km2 (c.240,000 square miles). It has a population of C. 5.5 million people, and has had several, recent civil wars and un rest continues. Bangui is the country’s capital and largest city with over a million inhabitants, bordering the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Having been a French colony under the name Ubangi-Shari, French is the official language, with Sango, a Ngbandi-based creole language, as the national and co-official language. As of 2015, according to the Human Development Index (HDI), the country had the lowest level of human development, ranking 188th out of 188 countries. It is also estimated to be the unhealthiest country as well as the worst country in which to be young.

Much of the country consists of flat or rolling plateau savanna approximately 500 metres above sea level. In addition to the Fertit Hills in the northeast of the Central African Republic, there are scattered hills in the southwest regions. In the northwest is the Yade Massif, a granite plateau with an altitude of 348 metres. The Central African Republic contains six terrestrial ecoregions: Northeastern Congolian lowland forests, Northwestern Congolian lowland forests, Western Congolian swamp forests, East Sudanian savanna, Northern Congolian forest-savanna mosaic, and Sahelian Acacia savanna. However, it mainly consists of Sudano-Guinean savanna, but includes a Sahelo-Sudanian zone in the north and an equatorial forest zone in the south.

Yellow-crowned Gonolek Laniarius barbarus ©Dubi Shapiro

Two-thirds of the country is within the Ubangi River basin (which flows into the Congo), while the remaining third lies in the basin of the Chari, which flows into Lake Chad. Much of the southern border is formed by tributaries of the Congo River; the Mbomou River in the east merges with the Uele River to form the Ubangi River, which also comprises portions of the southern border. The Sangha River flows through some of the western regions of the country, while the eastern border lies along the edge of the Nile River watershed.

It has been estimated that up to 36% of the country is covered by forest, with the densest parts generally located in the southern regions. The forests are highly diverse and include commercially important species of Ayous, Sapelli, and Sipo and lumber poaching is commonplace.

The climate of the Central African Republic is generally tropical, with a wet season that lasts from June to September in the northern regions of the country, and from May to October in the south. During the wet season, rainstorms are an almost daily occurrence, and early morning fog is commonplace. Maximum annual precipitation is over 70 inches in the upper Ubangi region.  The northern areas are hot and humid from February to May, but can be subject to the hot, dry, and dusty trade wind known as the Harmattan. The southern regions have a more equatorial climate, but they are subject to desertification, while the extreme northeast regions of the country are a steppe.

Birding the Central African Republic

In the southwest, the Dzanga-Sangha National Park is located in a rain forest area.

Dzanga-Sangha Forest Reserve – ©Matt Muir CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

The country is noted for its population of forest elephants and western lowland gorillas. In the north, the Manovo-Gounda St Floris National Park is well-populated with wildlife, including leopards, lions, cheetahs and rhinos, and the Bamingui-Bangoran National Park is located in the northeast of the Central African Republic. The parks have been seriously affected by the activities of poachers, particularly those from Sudan, over the past two decades.

Forest cover being around 36% of the total land area, is equivalent to 22,303,000 hectares of forest. Of the naturally regenerating forest 9% was reported to be primary forest (consisting of native tree species with no clearly visible indications of human activity). 91% of the forest is reported to be under public ownership. In 2021, the rate of deforestation in the Central African Republic increased by 71%.

The vast forest area is considered one of the richest storehouses of wildlife spread over national parks, hunting reserves and community hunting areas. However, it had experienced an alarming loss of wildlife because of greed for ivory and bushmeat exploitation by hunters and slavers from across the borders with Chad and Sudan. The unrest and the poverty mean that bushmeat is over exploited. The richness of the wildlife of the Central African Republic is reflected in its 3,600 species of plants, 772 birds, 209 mammals (includes two endemic species and 11 threatened species), 187 reptiles and 29 amphibians. Apart from all the savanna species of wild animals, the unique species found here are forest gorillas.

The three most coveted national parks are the Manovo-Gounda St. Floris National Park with its reported ‘greatest concentrations of hippos in the world’, the Bamingui-Bangoran National Park in the north; and the Dzanga-Sangha Reserve which covers rain forests.

Manovo-Gounda St. Floris National Park – ©Garoa larrañeta CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

The Manovo-Gounda-Saint-Floris National Park, in particular was inscribed to the UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites in 1988 in recognition of the diversity of life present within it in respect of its wealth of flora and fauna. In 2014, the Chinko Nature Reserve in eastern CAR was granted management through a public-private partnership with the Central African Republic Ministry of Wildlife, Water and Forestry and African Parks, a conservation NGO that takes on the direct, long-term management of national parks and protected areas in partnership with governments to save wildlife, restore landscapes and ensure sustainable livelihoods for local communities. African Parks has a mandate to manage this protected area, now referred to as the Chinko Project, for the next 50 years.

Situated in the east of the CAR, Chinko is one of the region’s only remaining strongholds for numerous species including the highly threatened Lord Derby eland, bongo and chimpanzees. This important ecosystem, however, is under tremendous pressure from militarised ivory poachers and intense levels of cattle grazing.

The national parks set up are the Andre Felix National Park, the Bamingui-Bangoran National Park, the Manovo-Gounda Saint Floris and the Zdanga-Ndoki; the presidential park is the D’Avakaba; the strict nature reserves are the Mbaéré-Bodingué Reserve and the Vassaka-Bolo Reserve; the wildlife reserves are Aouk-Aoukale Reserve, Gribingui-Bamingui Reserve, Koukourou-Bamingui Reserve, Nana-Barya Reserve, Ouandja-Vakaga Reserve, the Yata-Ngaya Reserve and the Zemongo Reserve; the special reserve is the Dzanga-Sangha; and the biosphere reserve is Basse-Lobaye.

 In the Manovo-Gounda St. Floris National Park 379 species of birds have been sighted, which can be seen from observation platforms built in the park or by taking a boat ride on the Sangha River or its tributary, the Mossapoula River.