Bia Shelter Belt Forest Reserve

West Africa > Ghana > Bia Shelter Belt Forest Reserve

Summary

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• Western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) are present in Bia Shelter Belt Forest Reserve.
• The population size is unknown.
• The chimpanzee population trend is unknown.
• The size of the site is 31.4 km².
• Key threats to chimpanzees are poaching and logging.
• Conservation activities have focused on education and patrols.

Site characteristics

Bia Shelter Belt Forest Reserve is a Tropical Semi-Deciduous Forest. It is home to pangolins, duikers, and monkeys, among other species. The area also has a good forest but exploitation of the Forest and other activities are reducing the status of the forest cover (Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023).

Table 1. Basic site information for Bia Shelter Belt Forest Reserve

Area	31.4 km²
Coordinates	7.050600, -2.695950
Designation	Forest Reserve
Habitat types	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland Forest

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Ape status

No recent survey has been conducted at the area but some farmers and hunters within the area claimed they have been spotting chimpanzees periodically in the Bia Shelter Belt Forest Reserve (Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023).

Table 2. Ape population estimates in Bia Shelter Belt Forest Reserve

Species	Year	Abundance estimate (95% CI)	Density estimate [ind./ km²] (95% CI)	Encounter rate (nests/km)	Area	Method	Source	Comments	A.P.E.S. database ID
Pan troglodytes verus					Bia Shelter Belt FR

Threats

In the past, around the 1990s, threats were not very serious, but the threats to the forest are now increasing along with the human population increase, which leads to the higher demand for resources. Poaching threat is medium in the core area of the reserve and more severe closer to towns, villages and farms; illegal logging is severe all over the Reserve (Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023). Illegal logging and some periodic spot burnings occur in the reserve (Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023).

Table 3. Threats to apes in Bia Shelter Belt Forest Reserve

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Quantified severity	Description	Year of threat
1. Residential & commercial development		Unknown
2. Agriculture & aquaculture		Unknown
3. Energy production & mining		Unknown
4. Transportation & service corridors		Unknown
5. Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	Medium		Farmers and hunters get most of their livelihood from the Forest Reserve (Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023).	Ongoing (2023)
	5.3 Logging & wood harvesting	High		Part of the area was under timber concession until 2019. Illegal logging and collection of forest products are still taking place (since 1980s but intensified from 2005 up to date) (Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023).	Ongoing (2023)
6. Human intrusion & disturbance		Unknown
7. Natural system modifications	7.1 Fire & fire suppression	Low		Sometimes the forest catches fire and destroys part of the forest, which changes the structure of the forest (Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023).	Ongoing (2023)
8. Invasive & other problematic species, genes, diseases		Unknown
9. Pollution		Unknown
10. Geological Events		Absent
11. Climate change & severe weather		Unknown
12. Other options		Absent

IUCN Threats list

Conservation activities

Forestry Commission staff undertake patrols within the forest and carry out conservation education in the communities on the best conservation practices. The Forestry Commission is making efforts to intensify protection by deploying reinforcement teams from Ghana Forest RAPID RESPONSE TEAMS to the area to support the protection of the forest (Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023).

Table 4. Conservation activities in Bia Shelter Belt Forest Reserve

Category	Specific activity	Description	Year of activity
1. Residential & commercial development	Not reported
2. Agriculture & aquaculture	Not reported
3. Energy production & mining	Not reported
4. Transportation & service corridors	Not reported
5. Biological resource use	5.6. Conduct regular anti-poaching patrols	Wildlife staff and Forest Guards undertake patrols in the reserve to control illegalities (Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023).	Ongoing (2023)
6. Human intrusion & disturbance	Not reported
7. Natural system modifications	Not reported
8. Invasive & other problematic species, genes, diseases	Not reported
9. Pollution	Not reported
10. Education & Awareness	10.1. Educate local communities about primates and sustainable use	Conservation education is carried out by Wildlife staff (Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023).	Ongoing (2023)
11. Habitat Protection	11.2. Legally protect primate habitat		Ongoing (2023)
	11.8. Plant indigenous trees to re-establish natural tree communities in clear-cut areas	Enrichment planting is ongoing in the Forest Reserve and the trees are doing very well (Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023).	Ongoing (2023)
12. Species Management	Not reported
13. Livelihood; Economic & Other Incentives	Not reported

Conservation activities list (Junker et al. 2017)

Challenges to conservation

Restrictions into Forest Reserves are not the same as for National Parks and Resource reserves; as a result, illegal offtake control has not been so effective and the increase of population and demand for resources for their livelihood has made effective conservation difficult. Inadequate staffing, bad roads, little field equipment, no survey equipment, lack of vehicles, inadequate funding etc. hampers protection (Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023).

Table 5. Challenges reported for Bia Shelter Belt Forest Reserve

Challenge	Source
Lack of human resources	Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023
Lack of law enforcement	Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023
Lack of trust and support from local communities	Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023
Lack of logistical means	Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023

Research activities

Periodic research by the Forestry Commission, NGOs and others take place in the Forest Reserve.

Documented behaviours

Table 6. Ape behaviors reported for Bia Shelter Belt Forest Reserve

Behavior	Source
Not reported

External links

Ghana Forestry Commission

References

Page completed by: Richard Ofori-Amanfo Date: 09/11/2023