6,786
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve (view source)
Revision as of 12:15, January 16, 2008
, 12:15, January 16, 2008New page: right|thumb|250px|Mount Nimba Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve is a 69 square mile national park straddling the borders of Côte d'Ivoire and Guinea; th...
[[Image:Mt Nimba.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Mount Nimba]]
[[Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve]] is a 69 square mile national park straddling the borders of [[Côte d'Ivoire]] and [[Guinea]]; the region also extends into [[Liberia]], but this section is unprotected and heavily exploited for [[mineral]]s and wildlife. Including semi-[[deciduous]] forest, [[rain forest]] and [[savannah]], it is called a "strict" reserve as, unlike many other national parks, [[tourism]] is forbidden. It has an extremely rich [[endemic]] flora and fauna, and more than 500 new species of fauna have been discovered, including over 200 endemic species. Of special interest is the endangered '''viviparous [[toad]]''' (''Nimbaphrynoides occidentalis''), which occurs only in the upper [[montane]] habitats of Mt. Nimba.<ref>''IUCN Technical Review'' World Heritage Nomination 155 (1981)</ref> Important species of [[mammal]]s include the [[leopard]], the dwarf African otter shrew, which was first discovered in 1954 on Mt. Nimba, and a population of [[chimpanzee|chimpanzees]] whose behaviour involves the use of stone tools.<ref>'''Matsuzawa, T.''' ''et al.'' "Emergence of Culture in Wild Chimpanzees: Education by Master-Apprenticeship" (2001) [http://www.pri.kyoto-u.ac.jp/koudou-shinkei/shikou/reference/book_Priori/Priori.html Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University]. Accessed 16 January 2008</ref> The actual mountain has the highest grade [[iron]] deposits in the world, being almost solid iron [[ore]]. Mining on Mount Nimba accounts for approximately 1 per cent of world production, currently set at around 900 million tons.
==Indigenous population==
There has probably never been any permanent settlement on the actual mountain, however there are ten villages in the immediate vicinity of Nimba with several thousand inhabitants, mainly subsisting through [[agriculture]]. Since 1991, population pressure has been increasing following the arrival of refugees from Liberia.<ref>''Local human population'' Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve: Protected Areas Programme [http://www2.wcmc.org.uk/protected_areas/data/wh/mtnimba.html World Conservation Monitoring Centre]. Accessed 16 January 2008</ref>
==Cultural heritage==
Hewn stone tools and chippings have been discovered in a rock shelter at Blandé at the northern end of the mountain.<ref>''Cultural heritage'' Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve: Protected Areas Programme [http://www2.wcmc.org.uk/protected_areas/data/wh/mtnimba.html World Conservation Monitoring Centre]. Accessed 16 January 2008</ref>
==World heritage==
The reserve was inscribed as a [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]] in 1981, under criteria ''ix'' and ''x''<ref>''Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve'' [http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/155 UNESCO]. Accessed 16 January 2008</ref> of the agency's selection criteria.<ref>''Selection criteria'' [http://whc.unesco.org/en/criteria/ UNESCO]. Accessed 16 January 2008</ref> In 1992, the Guinean government
had issued a decree entrusting a part of the Nature Reserve to an international mining consortium and the launching of a mining project. The reserve was placed on the list of World Heritage in Danger the same year.<ref>''Justification for inscription on the List of World Heritage in Danger, 1992: Report of the 16th Session of the Committee'' [http://whc.unesco.org/archive/repcom92.htm#nimba UNESCO]. Accessed 16 January 2008</ref>
==External links==
*[http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/155 UNESCO] Site entry. Accessed 16 January 2008
==References==
<small>{{reflist|1}}</small>
[[Category:World Heritage Sites]]
[[Category:Africa]]
[[Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve]] is a 69 square mile national park straddling the borders of [[Côte d'Ivoire]] and [[Guinea]]; the region also extends into [[Liberia]], but this section is unprotected and heavily exploited for [[mineral]]s and wildlife. Including semi-[[deciduous]] forest, [[rain forest]] and [[savannah]], it is called a "strict" reserve as, unlike many other national parks, [[tourism]] is forbidden. It has an extremely rich [[endemic]] flora and fauna, and more than 500 new species of fauna have been discovered, including over 200 endemic species. Of special interest is the endangered '''viviparous [[toad]]''' (''Nimbaphrynoides occidentalis''), which occurs only in the upper [[montane]] habitats of Mt. Nimba.<ref>''IUCN Technical Review'' World Heritage Nomination 155 (1981)</ref> Important species of [[mammal]]s include the [[leopard]], the dwarf African otter shrew, which was first discovered in 1954 on Mt. Nimba, and a population of [[chimpanzee|chimpanzees]] whose behaviour involves the use of stone tools.<ref>'''Matsuzawa, T.''' ''et al.'' "Emergence of Culture in Wild Chimpanzees: Education by Master-Apprenticeship" (2001) [http://www.pri.kyoto-u.ac.jp/koudou-shinkei/shikou/reference/book_Priori/Priori.html Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University]. Accessed 16 January 2008</ref> The actual mountain has the highest grade [[iron]] deposits in the world, being almost solid iron [[ore]]. Mining on Mount Nimba accounts for approximately 1 per cent of world production, currently set at around 900 million tons.
==Indigenous population==
There has probably never been any permanent settlement on the actual mountain, however there are ten villages in the immediate vicinity of Nimba with several thousand inhabitants, mainly subsisting through [[agriculture]]. Since 1991, population pressure has been increasing following the arrival of refugees from Liberia.<ref>''Local human population'' Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve: Protected Areas Programme [http://www2.wcmc.org.uk/protected_areas/data/wh/mtnimba.html World Conservation Monitoring Centre]. Accessed 16 January 2008</ref>
==Cultural heritage==
Hewn stone tools and chippings have been discovered in a rock shelter at Blandé at the northern end of the mountain.<ref>''Cultural heritage'' Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve: Protected Areas Programme [http://www2.wcmc.org.uk/protected_areas/data/wh/mtnimba.html World Conservation Monitoring Centre]. Accessed 16 January 2008</ref>
==World heritage==
The reserve was inscribed as a [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]] in 1981, under criteria ''ix'' and ''x''<ref>''Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve'' [http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/155 UNESCO]. Accessed 16 January 2008</ref> of the agency's selection criteria.<ref>''Selection criteria'' [http://whc.unesco.org/en/criteria/ UNESCO]. Accessed 16 January 2008</ref> In 1992, the Guinean government
had issued a decree entrusting a part of the Nature Reserve to an international mining consortium and the launching of a mining project. The reserve was placed on the list of World Heritage in Danger the same year.<ref>''Justification for inscription on the List of World Heritage in Danger, 1992: Report of the 16th Session of the Committee'' [http://whc.unesco.org/archive/repcom92.htm#nimba UNESCO]. Accessed 16 January 2008</ref>
==External links==
*[http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/155 UNESCO] Site entry. Accessed 16 January 2008
==References==
<small>{{reflist|1}}</small>
[[Category:World Heritage Sites]]
[[Category:Africa]]