Until 2008, the implementation of a regional management was supported by the EU-funded project ECOPAS (Protected Ecosystems in Sudano-Sahelian Africa, French: Écosystèmes protégés en Afrique soudano-sahélienne).

The W National Park of Niger was created by decree on 4 August 1954, and since 1996 has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

In the three nations, the regional park covers some 10,000 km2 (3,900 sq mi) largely uninhabited by humans, having been until the 1970s a malarial zone of wetlands formed by the delta of the Mékrou River with the Niger, broken by rocky hills.

However, the rare West African giraffe, today restricted to small parts of the Niger, is absent from the area.

The W park is also known for historic occurrence of packs of the endangered West African wild dog,[5] although this canid may now be locally extinct.