Central Africa > Central African Republic > Chinko Nature Reserve

Summary

Eastern chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) are present in Chinko Nature Reserve.
It has been estimated that 907 (CI: 538-1,534) individuals occur in the site.
The chimpanzee population trend is unknown.
The site has a total size of 19,846 km².
Key threats to chimpanzees are bushmeat hunting and cattle herding.
Conservation activities have focused on law enforcement and supporting the local communities by providing employment and salary contributions.

Site characteristics

Chinko is located in the Chinko-Mbari drainage basin, in eastern Central African Republic. The area comprises a mosaic of Medio-Sudanian and Sudano-Guinean savanna with some patches of Congolian lowland rainforest. This diversity of ecosystems makes the site remarkably rich and unique in biodiversity. More than 400 bird species have been recorded at the site. Chinko is also home to more than 10 primate species, four ant-eating mammals, forest and savanna elephants, 21 carnivores including the African wild dog, lion and mongooses, and large antelopes, notably the giant eland and bongo (USAID 2019). In 2017, ethnic violence in the country resulted in a humanitarian crisis, which forced more than 300 people into the reserve, where they were protected and assisted by the reserve's rangers and management (African Parks).

Table 1. Basic site information for Chinko Nature Reserve

Area	19,846 km²
Coordinates	6.021974 N, 24.077838 E
Designation	Nature Reserve
Habitat types	Savanna, subtropical/tropical moist lowland forest

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Ape status

Table 2. Ape population estimates in Chinko Nature 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 schweinfurthii	2012-2016	907 (538-1,534)			Chinko Nature Reserve	Camera traps, transect walks and collected fecal samples	Aebischer et al. 2017

Threats

Table 3. Threats to apes in Chinko Nature Reserve

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Description	Year of threat
1. Residential & commercial development		Unknown
2. Agriculture & aquaculture	2.3 Livestock farming & ranching	High	Hundreds of thousands of cattle and armed herders overran the park (African Parks).	Until 2014
3. Energy production & mining		Unknown
4. Transportation & service corridors		Unknown
5. Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	High	Professional poaching and bushmeat hunting by local populations (African Parks, USAID 2019).	Ongoing (2019)
6. Human intrusion & disturbance		Unknown
7. Natural system modifications		Unknown
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

African Parks was awarded the mandate to manage Chinko in 2014, for 50 years. Since then, Chinko has provided employment to hundreds of people in the region, fueling a conservation-led economy. A core protection zone of 6,000 sq. km, free of threats, has seen the return of wildlife at the site. Wildlife surveys have documented more than 1,000 chimpanzees, at least 60 elephants, more than 3,000 West African buffalo, and over 600 Lord Derby’s eland have been documented. Over 75 African wild dogs and 30 Northern lions also inhabit the reserve (African Parks).

Table 4. Conservation activities in Chinko Nature Reserve

Category	Specific activity	Description	Year of activity
1. Residential & commercial development	Not reported
2. Agriculture & aquaculture	2.8. Prohibit (livestock) farmers from entering protected areas	Chinko recruited, trained and deployed 45 Transhumance Sensitization Officers to monitor and educate transhumant herders coming into reserve, which is a major threat in the area. These Officers guide herders towards designated corridors to avoid sensitive wildlife habitats (African Parks).	Ongoing
3. Energy production & mining	Not reported
4. Transportation & service corridors	Not reported
5. Biological resource use	5.6. Conduct regular anti-poaching patrols	African Parks established Chinko’s first law enforcement unit, currently comprising over 60 rangers, who conduct patrols (African Parks).	Ongoing
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	Not reported
11. Habitat Protection	Not reported
12. Species Management	Not reported
13. Livelihood; Economic & Other Incentives	13.1. Provide monetary benefits to local communities for sustainably managing their forest and its wildlife (e.g. REDD, employment)	Salaries for school teachers, doctors and nurses are being provided. In 2019 Chinko financially supported 58 farmers and 27 soap makers (the majority of whom are women), and refurbished a local market as well as a vehicle ferry, to support the local economy. Forty-five schoolteachers and three medical staff from the local communities were provided with salary contributions and additional training (African Parks).	Ongoing

Conservation activities list (Junker et al. 2017)

Challenges

Table 5. Challenges reported for Chinko Nature Reserve

Challenge	Source
Not reported

Research activities

First quantitative survey delineates the distribution of chimpanzees in the Eastern Central African Republic
Wildlife Poaching and Trafficking Prevalent Across Central Africa’s Garamba-Bili-Chinko Landscape
Chinko/Mbari drainage basin represents a conservation hotspot for Eastern Derby eland in Central Africa

Documented behaviours

Table 6. Ape behaviors reported for Chinko Nature Reserve

Behavior	Source
Not reported

External links

African Parks Chinko Nature Reserve

Relevant datasets

A.P.E.S Portal

References

Aebischer, T., Siguindo, G., Rochat, E., Arandjelovic, M., Heilman, A., Hickisch, R., Vigilant, L., Joost, S., & Wegmann, D. (2017). First quantitative survey delineates the distribution of chimpanzees in the Eastern Central African Republic. Biological Conservation, 213, 84-94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2017.06.031
USAID. (2019). Garamba Chinko Landscape Fact Sheet. Retrieved from: https://www.usaid.gov/documents/1860/garamba-chinko-fact-sheet

Page completed by: A.P.E.S. Wiki team Date: 29/12/2020

Chinko Nature Reserve

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