In October 1999, the park was declared a National Park. In the same year the so-called Yaoundé Declaration was signed, forming a tri-national park agreement of cooperation with Dzanga-Sangha Forest Reserve in the Central African Republic and the Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park in the Republic of Congo. This tri-park are is operated by the Central African Forest Commission (COMIFAC), and is overlooked and funded by international wildlife groups such as the World Wildlife Fund, the German Cooperation of Technical Collaboration (GTZ) and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). In 2012, the entire Sangha Trinational protected area (including Lobéké National Park) became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The park covers 1,839 km² and its altitude ranges from 300 m to 750 m above sea level. More than twelve natural savannas, characterized as saline swamps, occur within the park. There are also sandbars on the Sangha.

Lobéké is predominantly a semi-evergreen forest, most of which has never been logged. The forest is characterized by an enormous variety of plants. Dominant species include Malvaceae and Terminalia superba. The understory consists of Marantaceae-Zingiberaceae thicket, or Ebenaceae and Annonaceae trees. Near streams there are clusters of Gilbertiodendron dewevrei. Palm thickets and sedge marshes border the savannas. There are more than 300 species of trees in Lobéké.

Some of the highest densities of African forest elephants and western lowland gorillas in all of Africa are found in Lobéké. Other animals include chimpanzees, gorillas, leopards, as well as ten species of forest ungulates. In addition to mammals, the faunal inventory includes 215 species of butterflies, 134 species of fish, 18 species of reptiles, and 16 species of amphibians.

Lobéké National Park is an Important Bird Area (#CM033). Over 300 species of birds have been recorded here. The African green pigeon, hornbills, yellow-throated cuckoo, sandy scops owl and the chocolate-backed kingfisher can all be found in the park. Specifically within Cameroon and Gabon, it is an important bird area for the Dja River scrub warbler.

The annual rainfall averages 1400 mm, with the dry season occurring from December through February.