Forêt du Banco National Park

Forêt du Banco National Park

The Banco National Park is situated along the northern highway in the Attécoubé district of Côte d'Ivoire. Together with the Tijuca National Park in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, it is the only primary dense tropical forest in the heart of an urban area. It is located in Abidjan, at the junction of the communes of Abobo, Yopougon, Adjamé and Attécoubé. The forest is the green lung and hydraulic watershed of Abidjan city, with a 600-hectare rainforest of rare tree species at its core. At the beginning, the national park was famous for its abundance of animal species, including the Harnessed Guib, duikers, primates, suids and many bird species. What survives today are the Harnessed Guib, a few species of monkeys, a dozen species of chimpanzees and birds, some of them threatened with extinction. Within the national park, hiking trails and 80 km of cycle paths have been built for visitors. According to officials, the Banco National Park is currently threatened by illegal logging and poaching, unchecked urbanization, and locals dumping waste in the forest. In order to protect the park, the construction of a 10 km long wall was started in 2022.