Burkina Faso Wildlife and Economy
Animals and Plants
Which animals live in Burkina Faso?
The large mammals of the African savannah are endangered by hunting in Burkina Faso. However, hippos, elephants, buffalo, lions and leopards still live in the protected areas. The African wild dog lives in the W National Park. The Haussa gorse and the warthog live in the south of the country, while the pale fox lives in the north.
Gazelles and several species of antelope (for example the bushbuck or the oribi antelope) are still common, as are several species of monkeys. They also include the anubis baboon, the hussar monkey, and the Senegal galago. Aardvarks, African civets, rock hyrax, caracals, gorse cats, honey badgers, servals, striped jackals, slender mongooses and zorillas live all over the country.
Reptilescome in many types. The crocodile lives in rivers and lakes and is considered a sacred animal in Burkina Faso. There are three types: the armored crocodile, the Nile crocodile and the stump crocodile. The rock python lives in the southwest corner and a small area in the central south.
Birds also come in numerous species. They include ducks, herons, ibises, bustards, vultures, falcons, snipes and railings. A particularly pretty representative is the blue-necked mouse bird. Some migratory birds come to Burkina Faso from Europe in winter and hibernate here. They include the red chalk hawk and the double snipe.
And which plants grow in Burkina Faso?
The landscape that predominates in Burkina Faso is the savannah. In the north, which belongs to the Sahel zone, there is the thorn bush savanna. It is very dry here and mainly grasses and acacias grow. They alternate with individual trees. There is the tiger bush landscape here: stripes with vegetation alternate with bare stripes. The baobab tree, the desert date, the shea tree, the ana tree or the jujube tree, for example, grow here.
In the adjoining dry savannah you can also find thorny plants and acacias as well as the trees mentioned, but there are other species, such as Néré and Combretum trees (long threads), which are particularly typical here.
The further south you go, the more trees you will discover. Gallery forests stretch along the rivers. For example, figs, oil palms and white beans grow here. You can also find African mahogany (Khaya senegalensis) and Isoberlinia doka here. On page 2 you can see a picture of this tree.
Economy
The economy in Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso is an agricultural country. This means that most of the people are employed in agriculture. In contrast, there is little industry. The country’s main sources of income are gold and cotton.
Burkina Faso is a poor country. The via is measured Human Development Index of the United Nations. This index measures the prosperity, i.e. the wealth of the countries, worldwide. Burkina Faso ranks 182nd out of 189 countries. For more articles on Burkina Faso and Africa, please visit zipcodesexplorer.
The income of the state is distributed as follows: Agriculture has a 31 percent share, industry 23.9 percent and services 45 percent.
Millet and corn, rice, yams and cassava
90 percent of the population practice agriculture. Even so, only a third of the income comes from agriculture. They are grown for their own consumption and perhaps also to sell the small harvest on the market. This is called subsistence farming. Millet, corn and rice are among the staple foods. Yams, cassava and sugar cane are also grown in the south of the country. Sugar cane plantations are particularly located around Banfora.
Cultivation is made more difficult by the fact that in some years there is little rain. Then droughts occur and the plants cannot grow. Famine then occurs, especially in the already drier north of the country. Most of the field work is done with a hoe.
Cotton, shea nuts and peanuts are grown for sale abroad. Cotton is the commodity that generates half of all revenues from exports. However, the price of cotton fluctuates greatly from year to year. Shea nuts, the fruits of the shea tree, are used in cosmetics.
Chickens, goats, sheep and cattle are kept on cattle. The Fulbe in the north are nomadic cattle breeders. Cattle, and especially cattle, are also sold to other countries, mainly neighboring countries. However, their share has decreased in recent years.
Are there factories?
The country’s industry is mainly located in the capital Ouagadougou, as well as in Bobo-Dioulasso. There are mainly food factories, and there is also a sugar factory in Banfora. Another problem for the settlement of industries is the lack of traffic routes: there is only one railway line and only a small part of the streets is paved.
Gold and other mineral resources
Gold is one of the most important sales goods in the country. There are six large gold mines and a large number of small ones. The major gold mines are operated by foreign companies, for example the Essakane gold mine, which is operated by the Canadian company Iamgold. A big problem in many gold mines is that children are forced to work here. Copper, manganese, iron and phosphates are also mined in Burkina Faso.
