Salonga National Park

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Salonga National Park: A Giant Tropical Rainforest Reserve in the Heart of Central Congo Basin

Salonga National Park, situated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), is a vast expanse of pristine tropical rainforest that covers approximately 36,000 square kilometers or 3.6 million hectares. This expansive protected area, which stretches across the provinces of Mai Ndombe, Equateur, Kasaï, and Sankuru, is Africa's largest tropical rainforest reserve and holds significant importance for biodiversity conservation.

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UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site

Salonga National Park is Africa's largest tropical rainforest reserve. Situated at the heart of the central basin of the Congo river, the park is very isolated and accessible only by water. It is the habitat of many endemic endangered species, such as the dwarf chimpanzee, the Congo peacock, the forest elephant and the African slender-snouted or 'false' crocodile.

UNESCO Justification of the World Heritage Site

Criterion (vii): Salonga National Park represents one of the very rare existing biotopes absolutely intact in central Africa. Moreover, it comprises vast marshland areas and practically inaccessible gallery forests, which have never been explored and may still be considered as practically virgin.

Criterion (ix): The plant and animal life in Salonga National Park constitute an example of biological evolution and the adaptation of life forms in a complex equatorial rainforest environment. The large size of the Park ensures the continued possibility for evolution of both species and biotic communities within the relatively undisturbed forest.

Encyclopedia Record: Salonga National Park

Salonga National Park is a national park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo located in the Congo River basin. It is Africa's largest tropical rainforest reserve covering about 36,000 km2 or 3,600,000 hectares. It extends into the provinces of Mai Ndombe, Equateur, Kasaï and Sankuru. In 1984, the national park was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List for its protection of a large swath of relatively intact rainforest and its important habitat for many rare species. In 1999, the site has been listed as endangered due to poaching and housing construction. Following the improvement in its state of conservation, the site was removed from the endangered list in 2021.

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IUCN World Heritage Outlook

The 2025 Conservation Outlook on Salonga National Park reports the following assessment:

Source: International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) · View assessment