Updates on Cross River Gorilla Conservation in Cameroon
A number of practical actions in support of the conservation of the
critically endangered Cross River gorilla have taken place in recent months
and we are all preparing for a very active dry season during which we
hope to achieve some of the important recommendations of the recently
published Regional
Action Plan for the Cross River gorilla.
Progress can be summarised under the following headings:
Protected Area Creation
Two sites of particular importance to the Cross River gorilla are currently
under creation in Cameroon: the proposed Kagwene Gorilla Sanctuary and
the proposed Takamanda National Park.
The proposed Kagwene Gorilla Sanctuary has been a base for long term gorilla
research since 2003, and our team of locally recruited staff continue
to both study and protect the genetically important gorillas of Kagwene
from our research camp perched on a grassy ridge high in the forest. In
recent months we have upgraded the research camp to provide basic but
comfortable accommodation for our research staff as well as for Ministry
eco-guards, who should be posted to the sanctuary once it has been officially
created. As an additional incentive to our government colleagues to complete
the creation process, we have also completed construction of an administrative
office for the Conservator in the nearby village of Njikwa with funds
from the US Fish and Wildlife Service in collaboration with Fauna
and Flora International.
The nearby proposed Takamanda National Park is another important part
of the Cross River gorilla conservation jigsaw as it harbours a further
2 of the 7 known Cameroonian Cross River gorilla sites, in addition to
one site where gorillas range across the border between Cross River National
Park (in Nigeria) and Takamanda. In the course of the last 12 months we
have led the process of creation for this proposed park in collaboration
with the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife, a complex task involving numerous
village and regional level consultative meetings. This work is being co-financed
by KfW (Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau - the German Development
Bank). As part of reviewing various biological baselines (such as those
previously reported in Gorilla Journals 18
and 22) for Takamanda, all known Cross River
gorilla groups in the area have been re-visited and, although it is difficult
to compare numbers of these elusive animals over time, we can say that
gorillas are still ranging in the same areas as they were when first visited
almost 10 years ago and no recent reports of poaching have been received.
Photo:
Aaron Nicholas
Inauguration of the administrative office for the proposed Kagwene Gorilla
Sanctuary
Landscape Management
The wider process of Cross River goril-la conservation must obviously
take place across the whole Cross River landscape, spanning an area of
roughly 12,000 km² shared between Nigeria and Cameroon. Work
by Richard Bergl and Linda Vigilant has presented an important preview
into how gorillas from different sites are related to one another and
has even helped provide evidence of migration between different sites.
The need to conserve potential corridor areas linking Cross River gorilla
sites and core protected areas is clearly crucial in the long term and
it is one of our most pressing priorities.
Research
In the coming dry season, with funding support from the US Fish and
Wildlife Service and Arcus Foundation, we intend to survey
large tracts of potential gorilla habitat in SW and NW Provinces in Cameroon
in an effort to complete our picture of Cross River gorilla distribution.
Surveys will be preceded by questionnaire surveys in villages in likely
areas to assess the likelihood of nearby gorilla presence. Survey teams,
headed by our experienced gorilla researchers, will then systematically
survey likely forest areas, often focusing on the remote, steep hillsides
that the gorillas seem to prefer. If a fresh gorilla sign is located,
genetic samples will be collected in an effort to further understand the
relatedness of individuals between different sites. It says something
about the difficulty of assessing numbers of Cross River gorillas accurately
when we still talk of undertaking this kind of work after 10 years of
working in the region!
Conservation Education
A crucial part of our program, which often dovetails with our protected
areas creation focus, are our conservation education activities. Last
year, we initiated work in 43 remote villages surrounding the proposed
Takamanda National Park, and in early 2008 we will be extending this program
to the communities surrounding the proposed Kagwene Gorilla Sanctuary.
Activities are conducted by our "outreach team" in both schools
and general community settings and, with the support of organisations
such as the Margot Marsh Biodiversity Foundation, Columbus Zoo,
the Great Apes Trust of Iowa, Zoo Boise and KfW, we have been able
to develop a number of materials that are tailored to the local settings
and conservation challenges.
Trans-boundary Coordination
The creation of the proposed Takamanda National Park provides a practical
way of initiating the kind of actions proposed in previous International
Cross River gorilla conferences on the ground. Management Plans for Takamanda
and Cross River National Park are soon to be written and provide an opportunity
for conservation strategies to be harmonized. Of particular importance
are those endangered and threatened species that range across the border
between the two areas including the forest elephant, Cross River gorilla
and almost certainly the drill and chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes vellerosus).
In early 2008, with funding from the USFWS US Fish and Wildlife Service
and the WWF Africa Great Apes Programme, the first joint Cross River gorilla
survey and patrol will be undertaken by eco-guards from both sides of
the border, paving the way for much greater collaboration at all levels
of park management in the future.
Aaron Nicholas and Ymke Warren
For further information or to contact us to know more please visit the WCS Cameroon page and follow the links for the Takamanda-Mone Landscape Project.
Aaron Nicholas is the Director of
the Wildlife Conservation Society's Takamanda-Mone Landscape Project,
with the core focus of conserving the Cross River gorilla in Cameroon.
Dr. Ymke Warren is the Research Coordinator for the WCS's Takamanda-Mone
Landscape Project with responsibilities that include overseeing ongoing
research in the proposed Kagwene Gorilla Sanctuary and field surveys in
general.