Pico Basilé National Park. Protected area located on Bioko Island , Malabo , capital of Equatorial Guinea . It stands out for its vegetation and great diversity and mainly for the large number of primates that inhabit the area. The park gets its name from Pico Basilé, the highest in Equatorial Guinea at 3,011 meters.
Summary
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- 1 Geographical situation
- 2 Boundaries and surface
- 3 Relief and hydrographic network
- 4 Hydrographic network
- 5 Geological formations
- 6 Climate
- 7 Vegetation
- 8 Fauna
- 9 Human population
- 10 Infrastructure
- 11 Human activities
- 12 Legal framework and management of the area
- 13 State of conservation and value of the site
- 14 Problems identified
- 15 Sources
Geographic situation
It is located in the province of Bioko Norte , in the district of Malabo ,
Boundaries and surface
The limits of the area coincide with the level curve of 800 meters, comprising the entire area above this level, which corresponds to the Pico Basilé , a volcanic massif that occupies the greatest extension and is the one with the highest elevation (3008 meters). of the Island. The area covers an area of 300 km², comprising exclusively terrestrial habitats.
Relief and hydrographic network
The park has a great diversity of landscapes and there is a great contrast between the different types of vegetation when ascending in height, from the mountainous forests to sub-alpine meadows at the highest levels. The deep ravines formed by the rivers that are born in this massif stand out. To the diversity of relief must be added the climatic contrast that is observed between the lower areas and the summit of Pico Basile, where extreme temperatures are reached due to the height and strong sunshine.
Hydrographic network
This area is conditioned by the very steep topography and abundant rainfall. There are numerous rivers and streams of a torrential nature such as the Ría-Ría, Cope, Bao, Uba, Date, Buye rivers and the Apu river that produces a deep gorge. In this massif Peak birth of all rivers flowing into the coast located north of the corridor Musola, it takes place from the bay of Luba to the Bay Riaba. .
Geological formations
The protected area has an elliptical shape with a major axis of about 25 km oriented from the southwest to the northeast and the smaller one, of 10 km, in a northeast direction to the southeast. Within the area, on its eastern and western flanks, there are a large number of craters and ravines, many of them open to the sea and which constitute the headwaters of numerous rivers. Highlighting the Caldera de bonyoma, as well as closed craters that crown peaks (Loros, Monteverde, Agujas, Rampa, Sitial and Piramide) and even form lakes ( Lake Loreto or Esaá). The soils of this area have their origin in the volcanic process that gave rise to the origin of this island. They are, therefore, derived from basaltic rocks where colloidal elements with a clayey texture abound. The content of humusranges from 4% to 13%. At higher altitudes the soils are reddish braunlehm.
Weather
The entire area has an equatorial climate with a highly regular thermal regime. The data for Malabo indicate an average annual temperature of 25ºC, with an average of 26.2ºC for the warmest month and 24ºC for the coolest. The variations in altitude give rise to a marked thermal gradient that goes from the values mentioned in the lower elevations to sub-zero temperatures during the night in the meadows of the summit of Pico Basilé .
Vegetation
Due to its geographical location, the Island of Bioko is entirely included in the domain of the Guineo-Congo forest , although it is a variant that is similar to those of southern Cameroon and Nigeria . The Basilé peak is covered with various types of plant formations that range from secondary forest and remnants of tropical rainforest in the lower parts to an area of subalpine vegetation at 3,000 meters high. The main plant formations are:
- Tropical rainforest and secondary formations … The rainforest that originally stretched like a border around the entire island, currently due to soil transformations for cocoa crops , has been reduced to only small patches. The Alomba (Pycnanthus angolensis), the bokapi (Staudia gabonensis) and Sarcocephal esculentus stand out in this formation , as well as numerous species of Picus . Where the forest has suffered human intervention, there are characteristic secondary formations where the presence of the popcorn (Musanga cicropioides) stands out.
- Mountainous forest: It extends above 800 meters to approximately 1400 meters in height, where the precipitation is highest, reaching values close to 3000 millimeters. It is characteristic of this forest covered with lichens (Usnea articulata and U. longissima) and mosses.
- Araliáceae Forest: It extends between 1,400 and 2,500 m in an area that reaches a rainfall of between 3,000 and 4,000 millimeters. It is a very stunted forest, with a more uniform composition, dominated by Polysciasfulva , Schefflera mannii, S.ledermannii and S. hierniana, trees of the Araliaceae families , which characterize this formation. Along with the araliaceae, Hypercicum lanceolatum and Crassocephalum mannii and Mimulopsis solmsii appear from 2,000 meters, occupying the shrub cover below the canopies of the araliaceae.
- Matoral of ericaceae and meadows. : It appears from 2,500 meters, being characterized by the Ericaceae : Aguaria salicifolia, Philipia mannii and Hypercicum lanceolatum, gradually giving way to the meadows, highlighting characteristic species of trembling latitudes such as Helichrysum, Geranium, Clematis, Senecio, etc.
Fauna
The Pico Basilé araliaceous forest is the habitat of the zosterópid Speirops brunneus, endemic on Bioko Island. In addition, there are abundant species of fauna associated with the different types of vegetation, among which primates such as: Preuss monkey Cercopithecus preussi insularis, Red-eared monkey C. erythrotis erythrotis, Black Colobus Colobus satanas) and Dril Papio leucophaeus are noteworthy. So; like various species of antelope and other small mammals .
Human population
There are no human settlements inside the protected area, but you can find some important population centers on the access roads such as: Moeri, Sampaca, Rebola, Bariobe, Bao Pequeno, Bao Grande, Bilelipa and Boloco.
Infrastructure
The main access to the area is through the highway starting from kilometer 15 in the main Malabo-Baney, reaching Pico Basilé by a track of about 25 kilometers. This access was opened to build the facilities of the TV station that are in the Peak. There are also another series of roads and trails that basically serve as access to the area for hunters. Such is the case of the Moeri path, the Sampaca-Basilé path and another series of minor paths starting from towns such as Bariobé, Bao Pequeno, Bao grande and Bilelipa.
Human activities
The activity most practiced by the population is subsistence agriculture, which includes the cultivation of food products. The impact of itinerant agriculture within the area is less, since there is no human settlement within it. Products such as yam (Dioscorea sp) and Malanga (X. violaceum) are usually grown on these farms, as well as other products intended primarily for domestic consumption ( plantains , bananas , pumpkins , cane , etc.). The fact that the protected area is above 800 meters has excluded the existence of any type of cocoa agriculture that is grown at lower altitudes.
Legal framework and management of the area
The Pico de Basilé is protected by Law No. 8/1988 dated December 31 , Regulating Fauna, Hunting and Protected Areas; which determines said area as a protected area.
Conservation status and value of the site
Despite the fact that the area is rich in species of wild fauna and flora, to date there has been no practical activity for the conservation of this biodiversity . The site contains important extensions of various types of vegetation of a tropical, subtropical and alpine character, still little disturbed. In these habitats there are endemic species of Bioko. The Basilé peak plays an important role in stabilizing the high rainfall in the area and controls the fluvial flow towards the lower parts of the place, where the human population is concentrated. Undoubtedly, its proximity to Malabo and the beauty of its settings give this area great potential for the development of tourism activities in nature and environmental education.
Identified issues
As the main problems identified, there is the lack of a delimitation of the area, the lack of concrete activities on the conservation and protection of the place
