Sangha Trinational

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Sangha Trinational: A Biodiverse Haven in the Heart of Central Africa

The Sangha Trinational, a vast expanse of pristine rainforest straddling the borders of Cameroon, Central African Republic (CAR), and the Republic of Congo, stands as a testament to the remarkable biodiversity and unique biological communities found within the humid tropical forests of Central Africa. This tri-national conservation area, covering approximately 750,000 hectares, was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2012 due to its exceptional biodiversity and the preservation of ecological and evolutionary processes on a grand scale.

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UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site

Situated in the north-western Congo Basin, where Cameroon, Central African Republic and Congo meet, the site encompasses three contiguous national parks totalling around 750,000 ha. Much of the site is unaffected by human activity and features a wide range of humid tropical forest ecosystems with rich flora and fauna, including Nile crocodiles and goliath tigerfish, a large predator. Forest clearings support herbaceous species and Sangha is home to considerable populations of forest elephants, critically endangered western lowland gorilla, and endangered chimpanzee. The site’s environment has preserved the continuation of ecological and evolutionary processes on a huge scale and great biodiversity, including many endangered animal species.

UNESCO Justification of the World Heritage Site

Criterion (ix): The property is characterised by its large size, further supported by the very large buffer zone, minimal disturbance over long periods and intactness thereby enabling the continuation of ecological and evolutionary processes at a huge scale. This includes the continuous presence of viable populations and natural densities of wildlife, including top predators and large mammals which are often affected by hunting and poaching elsewhere. There is a fully connected mosaic of very diverse habitats, including numerous types of ecologically remarkable forest clearings attracting major wildlife aggregations and countless plant species otherwise not found in the forest landscape. Unlike many other forest protected areas, the property is not a remaining fragment but continues to be part of a much larger intact and landscape with good conservation prospects. This is increasingly rare and significant at a global scale.

Criterion (x): The property represents a wide spectrum of the species-rich humid tropical forests in Central Africa’s Congo Basin, and provides protection for a range of endangered species. The flora is enriched by species occurring exclusively in the many types of forest clearings. TNS protects a large number of tree species which are heavily commercially exploited elsewhere, such as the critically endangered Mukulungu. In addition to viable populations of forest elephants, significant populations of the critically endangered Western Lowland Gorilla and the endangered Chimpanzee occur both in and around the property, together with several endangered antelope species, such as the Sitatunga and the emblematic Bongo.

Encyclopedia Record: Sangha Trinational

Sangha Trinational is a forest divided between the nations of Central African Republic, Cameroon and Congo-Brazzaville. It was added as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2012 because of its outstanding biodiversity and unique biological communities. The site includes 3 contiguous national parks within the humid tropical forests of Central Africa: Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park in Congo, Lobéké National Park in Cameroon, and Dzanga-Ndoki National Park in Central African Republic. The large size of the site and the relatively limited amount of deforestation within the three parks has allowed populations of vulnerable species such as African forest elephants, gorillas, sitatunga, and chimpanzees to thrive. In addition, populations of critically endangered plant species such as Mukulungu are protected within the site's borders.

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IUCN World Heritage Outlook

The 2025 Conservation Outlook on Sangha Trinational reports the following assessment:

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