Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
Nimule National Park is located in the extreme south of the country on the border with Uganda. The White Nile forms the eastern border of the park for c.48 km. Beyond it, on the eastern bank, there is a buffer zone, bounded by the Assua river to the north and by the Juba–Nimule road to the east. The Kayu river flows through the park from the Uganda border to the White Nile. The topography is hilly and most of the park is covered with savanna woodland of
Acacia spp.,
Balanites aegyptiaca and
Combretum aculeatum. Riverine woodland, found along permanent and seasonal watercourses, is composed principally of
Acacia sieberiana and
Borassus aethiopium. The site is contiguous with two IBAs in Uganda; Mount Kei Forest Reserve (UG022) and Mount Otzi Forest Reserve (UG023).
See Box and Table 2 for key species.
Non-bird biodiversity: Populations of Loxodonta africana (EN) have been severely reduced by poaching. Other species of global conservation concern include Kobus kob (LR/cd), Tragelaphus ellipsiprymnus (LR/cd), T. spekii (LR/nt), Ourebia ourebi (LR/cd) and Redunca redunca (LR/cd).
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The park was established as a Game Reserve in 1935 and gazetted as a National Park in 1954. The park has suffered heavily hunting from poaching which has resulted in, among other things, the local extermination of
Ceratotherium simum.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Nimule (South Sudan). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/nimule-iba-south-sudan on 23/12/2024.
