Problems and Risks

Population pressure

Initially, people who practiced agriculture, reared cattle and practiced hunting inhabited the park. These people used bush fires to control vegetation, resulting in degraded soils, the emergence of savanna vegetation, disappearance of large animals in some areas and other negative environmental impacts.

Nowadays, poaching represents a major risk for the fauna in the park with a significant decrease in the number of leopards and elephants over the last few years.

Impact of development projects

The park is also threatened by plans of building dams on the Gambie and Niokolo-Koba rivers. An artificial lake planned for the area would also increase activities associated with industrial exploration such as mining and quarrying. A proposal was made to upgrade a small road through the park to a major access international highway from Dakar to Bamako. IUCN (World Conservation Union) studies illustrated that building this highway through the park would have serious negative impacts on the park. As a result of the environmental impact assessment by IUCN, an alternative route around the park was proposed. It is not yet clear whether the government will select the proposed route. The use of Remote Sensing and GIS can be very helpfull for these kinds of studies.

Tourism

Tourism activities are increasing within the park. The long-term impacts of the tourism industry are not yet clear. A balance between the negative and positive effects of tourism should be sought, with the income generated being invested in the management and protection of the park.