W-Arly-Pendjari Complex World Heritage Site

Official name

W-Arly-Pendjari Complex | UNESCO

Country

Benin | Map

Continent

Africa

Location

11.8841° Lat, 2.4877° Lon | Map

Code

749

Time Zone

Africa/Porto-Novo (WAT, +0100)

Current Time

Category

Natural

Description

Inscribed 1996. This transnational extension (Benin, Burkina Faso) to the W National Park of Niger, inscribed in 1996 on the World Heritage List, cover a major expanse of intact Sudano-Sahelian savannah, with vegetation types including grasslands, shrub lands, wooded savannah and extensive gallery forests. It includes the largest and most important continuum of terrestrial, semi-aquatic and aquatic ecosystems in the West African savannah belt. The property is a refuge for wildlife species that have disappeared elsewhere in West Africa or are highly threatened. It is home to the largest population of elephants in West Africa and most of the large mammals typical of the region, such as the African Manatee, cheetah, lion and leopard. It also harbours the only viable population of lions in the region.