a faunal reserve in 1950. It was designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1987 under Natural Criteria ix and x, on account of the diversity of species present in the reserve. The Dja River surrounds the reserve on most of its border, except in the northeast. In 1981 it was designated a biosphere reserve under the UNESCO Man & Biosphere Programme covering an area of 526,000 ha. It has a topography with elevation varying between 400 m and 800 m with climate of equatorial type and with average annual precipitation of about 1,570mm. It has dense rain forests and is integral part of the Congo Basin. It is reported as the largest and best-protected of rainforests in Africa with 90 percent preserved in pristine condition mostly due to its difficult accessibility. There are more than 1,500 known plant (canopy of 30-40m rising to 60m) species in the reserve, over 107 mammals including five threatened species and more than 320 bird species in the reserve. The forest canopy consists of 43 tree species. It is well known for its biodiversity and a wide variety of primates such as western lowland gorilla Gorilla gorilla (CR) and western chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) with total reported species of more than 4000. As an Important Bird Area recognised by the BirdLife International, the 1993 inventory records avifauna of 349 resident species and also more than 80 species of regular migrants. Bates's weaver (EN) Ploceus batesi is endemic to southern Cameroon and African grey parrot Psittacus erithacus is on, lizard and two species of crocodile one of which is the African slender-snouted crocodile Crocodylus cataphractus. There are 60 fish species of which only one is endemic. Flora sanctuary Cameroon has one flora sanctuary (IUCN category IV) Kilum Ijim, Mont Oku Flora Sanctuary (10 km2), est. 2004 Transboundary protected areas and biosphere reserves Five transboundary protected areas cover portions of Cameroon and neighboring countries. Sangha Trinational is a transboundary conservation complex that includes Lobéké National Park in Cameroon, Dzanga-Ndoki National Park in the Central African Republic, and Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park in the Republic of the Congo. The three national parks protect an area of . A buffer zone of includes portions of all three countries. Sangha Trinational was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2012. Campo Ma'an National Park of borders on Rio Campo Natural Reserve in Equatorial Guinea. Kalamaloué National Park adjoins Mandelia