Ivindo National Park
Located on the equator in northern Gabon, the site covers nearly 300,000 hectares of mostly pristine conditions surrounded by a picturesque network of blackwater rivers. The site features rapids and waterfalls surrounded by intact rainforest, creating a landscape of great aesthetic value. The site’s aquatic habitats host endemic freshwater fish species, 13 of which are threatened, at least seven species of Podostemaceae river grasses, and each waterfall may have micro-endemic aquatic plants. Many of the fish species at the site have not yet been described, and parts of the site have barely been surveyed. The critically endangered slender-snouted crocodile (Mecistops cataphractus) has found sanctuary in Ivindo National Park, which also contains biogeographically unique native forests of the Caesalpinioideae species, with high conservation value, supporting, for example, a wide variety of butterflies and flagship mammals and birds at risk, such as the critically endangered forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis), western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla), endangered chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) and grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus), as well as the vulnerable grey-necked rock grouse (Picathartes oreas), mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx), leopard (Panthera pardus), African golden cat (Caracal aurata) and three species of pangolins (Manidae spp.).