Summary

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Central chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) and western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) are present in the Dzanga-Sangha Protected Area.
It has been estimated that 2,059 great apes occur in the site.
The great ape population trend is stable.
The site has a total size of 6,865 km².
Key threats to great apes are hunting, logging, and increased risk of disease transmission from humans.
Conservation activities have focused on anti-poaching patrols, eco-tourism, and supporting community health.
The site forms part of the Sangha Trinational transboundary conservation complex

Site characteristics

Dzanga-Sangha is located in the southwestern corner of the Central African Republic, bordering Dzanga-Ndoki National Park, also found in the Central African Republic, and Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park in the Republic of the Congo. The site forms part of the Sangha Trinational (TNS) transboundary conservation complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The TNS also encompasses Lobéké National Park in Cameroon, Dzanga-Ndoki National Park in the Central African Republic and Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park in the Republic of Congo. The Dzanga-Sangha Dense Forest Special reserve was established in 1990; in 2007 it was renamed the Dzanga-Sangha Protected Area (DSPA). In 2019, the World Wide Fund for Nature signed a co-management agreement with the government (Dzanga-Sangha). The DSPA is formed by a mosaic of ecosystems, including rivers, marshlands and bais, which support rare and endangered species such as forest elephants, western lowland gorillas, sitatungas and bongos (Dzanga-Sangha).

Table 1. Basic site information for Dzanga-Sangha Protected Area

Species	'Pan troglodytes troglodytes, Gorilla gorilla gorilla
Area	6,865 km²
Coordinates	Lat: 3.173628 , Lon: 16.296941
Type of site	Protected area
Habitat types	Subtropical/tropical swamp forest, Subtropical/tropical moist lowland forest, Wetlands (lakes, rivers, streams, bogs, marshes)
Type of governance

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Ape status

From 2012 to 2016 the great ape population in the DSPA has remained stable (N'Goran 2017).

Table 2. Ape population estimates reported for Dzanga-Sangha Protected Area

Species	Year	Occurrence	Encounter or vistation rate (nests/km; ind/day)	Density estimate [ind./ km²] (95% CI)	Abundance estimate (95% CI)	Survey area	Sampling method	Analytical framework	Source	Comments	A.P.E.S. database ID
Pan troglodytes troglodytes & Gorilla gorilla gorilla	2012				2,310	DSPA	Line transects		N'Goran 2017
Pan troglodytes troglodytes & Gorilla gorilla gorilla	2016				2,059	DSPA	Line transects		N'Goran 2017

Threats

Table 3. Threats to apes reported for Dzanga-Sangha Protected Area

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Description	Year of threat
10 Geological events		Absent
12 Other threat		Absent
5 Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	Present (unknown severity)	Growing demand for bushmeat from distant urban areas (Dzanga-Sangha).	Ongoing
5 Biological resource use	5.3 Logging & wood harvesting	Present (unknown severity)	Since 2014, two companies have each been granted a logging and administrative permit. Logging by the two companies will be completed by 2020. At that point, their concession permit can be extended or renewed (Dzanga-Sangha).	Ongoing
8 Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseases	8.4 Pathogens	Present (unknown severity)	Increased risk of disease transmission from humans (Dzanga-Sangha).	Ongoing
1 Residential & commercial development		Unknown
2 Agriculture & aquaculture		Unknown
3 Energy production & mining		Unknown
4 Transportation & service corridors		Unknown
6 Human intrusions & disturbance		Unknown
7 Natural system modifications		Unknown
9 Pollution		Unknown
11 Climate change & severe weather		Unknown

IUCN Threats list

Conservation activities

Table 4. Conservation activities reported for Dzanga-Sangha Protected Area

Category	Specific activity	Description	Year of activity
2 Counter-wildlife crime	2.3 Conduct regular anti-poaching patrols	Anti-poaching patrols (Dzanga-Sangha).	Ongoing
6 Species management	6.1 Habituate primates to human presence to reduce stress from tourists/researchers	Visitors have the privilege of tracking gorillas and mangabeys who are used to the presence of humans, thanks to the Primate Habituation Programme (PHP) (Dzanga-Sangha).	Ongoing
7 Economic & other incentives	7.2 Provide non-monetary benefits to local communities for sustainably managing their forest and its wildlife (e.g., better education, infrastructure development)	Support community health through a mobile unit and health care centers; supporting schools with money for teaching materials, teacher salaries, and student fees (Dzanga-Sangha]).	Ongoing
8 Permanent presence	8.2 Run tourist projects and ensure permanent human presence at site	Eco-tourism project (Dzanga-Sangha).	Ongoing

Conservation activities list (Junker et al. 2017)

Challenges

Table 5. Challenges reported for Dzanga-Sangha Protected Area

Challenges	Specific challenges	Source	Year(s)
	Not reported

Enablers

Table 6. Enablers reported for Dzanga-Sangha Protected Area

Enablers	Specific enablers	Source	Year(s)
1 Site management
2 Resources and capacity
3 Engaged community
4 Institutional support
5 Ecological context
6 Safety and stability

Research activities

Documented behaviours

Table 7. Behaviours documented for Dzanga-Sangha Protected Area

Behavior	Source
Not reported

Exposure to climate change impacts

External links

Dzanga-Sangha

Relevant datasets

References

N'Goran, K.P. (2017). Summary Report on WWF BIOMONITORING activities from 2014 to 2016 Status of Forest Elephant and Great Apes in Central Africa Priority Sites. Available online: https://www.wwf.de/fileadmin/fm-wwf/Publikationen-PDF/WWF_CA_Biomonitoring_Report.pdf

Page created by: A.P.E.S. Wiki team Date: NA

Dzanga-Sangha Protected Area

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