Gadha Woundou Classified Forest
West Africa > Republic of Guinea > Gadha Woundou Classified Forest
Summary
- Western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) are present in Gadha Woundou Classified Forest.
- Estimates for the chimpanzee population range between 50 and 500 individuals.
- The chimpanzee population trend is unknown.
- The total size of the area has not been reported.
- Agriculture and roads are the most prevalent signs of human activity in Gadha Woundou.
- Local residents have established forest monitoring committees.
Site characteristics
Gadha Woundou is a sub-prefecture located in Northern Guinea in the prefecture Koubia in the Fouta Djallon. Two classified forests, located right next to each other separated by the river Gambie, were established in 1952, Woundou North and Woundou South (WCF 2012). Gadha Woundou does not have a designated IUCN category nor is it listed in the World Database on Protected Areas (UNEP-WCMC and IUCN 2018). The habitat is characterized by a mosaic of wooded savanna, savanna grassland, gallery forests and bamboo forests (WCF 2012). The presence of jackals (Canis sp.), leopards (Panthera pardus), green monkeys (Chlorocebus sabaeus), Guinea baboons (Papio papio), and patas monkeys (Erythrocebus patas) has also been confirmed (WCF 2012).
Table 1. Basic site information for Gadha Woundou Classified Forest
| Area | Unknown |
| Coordinates | 11.97, -11.64 |
| Designation | IUCN Management Category not reported |
| Habitat types | Dry savanna, subtropical/tropical dry shrubland, subtropical/tropical dry forest, arable land |
IUCN habitat categories Site designations
Ape status
In 1997, Rebecca Kormos conducted reconnaissance surveys in Gadha Woundou and confirmed the presence of western chimpanzees (Ham 1998). I.S. Camara surveyed Woundou North Classified Forest and estimated the chimpanzee population at more than 500 individuals (Camara 2007, report not in the public domain, details cited here were taken from WCF 2012). In 2011, the Wild Chimpanzee Foundation also surveyed Woundou North in collaboration with the Office for Biodiversity and Protected Areas Guinea (OGuiBDPA) (WCF 2012). They estimated that around 50 chimpanzees occur in the area, but noted that this was an underestimate because they encountered a group of 50 individuals while other survey teams noticed two additional chimpanzee groups (WCF 2012). In savanna mosaics chimpanzee nests are mainly found in gallery forests and a systematic survey design can lead to underestimations in such fragmented habitat (WCF 2012).
Table 2. Ape population estimates in Gadha Woundou Classified Forest
| 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 | 1997 | Present | Gadha Woundou | Index survey | Ham 1998 | Reconnaissance survey | |||
| Pan troglodytes verus | 2007 | 500 | 55.74 | Woundou North (appr. 280km²) | Line transects (Distance) | Camara 2007 (as found in WCF 2012) | Total survey effort: 30.5km. Abundance estimate is a minimum. | ||
| Pan troglodytes verus | 2011 | 47 (25-95) | 0.167 (0.091-0.306) | Woundou North (appr. 280km²) | Line transects (Distance) | WCF 2012 | Total survey effort: 83.5 km, * report stated that total abundance was likely strongly underestimated |
Threats
Around 5.600 people are living in proximity to Gadha Woundou (Camara 2007). Human density in Woundou North Classified Forest is low with seven villages around the site (WCF 2012). Roads to these villages are, however, not passable year round. A survey of anthropogenic signs found paths to be most prevalent, followed by slash and burn agriculture, traditional hunting and wood extraction (WCF 2012). Chimpanzees are not hunted and there were no signs of commercial hunting (WCF 2012).
Table 3. Threats to great apes in Gadha Woundou Classified Forest
| Category | Specific threats | Threat level | Quantified severity | Description | Year of threat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Residential & commercial development | 1.1 Housing & urban areas | Low | 0.02 villages/km (2 villages, survey effort: 83.559 km, WCF 2012) | Sign of villages (WCF 2012) | Ongoing (2012) |
| 2. Agriculture & aquaculture | 2.1 Annual & perennial non-timber crops | Medium | 0.35 signs of agriculture /km (29 signs of agriculture, survey effort: 83.559 km, WCF 2012) | Signs of agriculture were found in 12% of Woundou North (WCF 2012) | Ongoing (2012) |
| 3. Energy production & mining | 3.2 Mining & quarrying | Low | 0.08 signs of mining/km (7 signs of hunting, survey effort: 83.559 km, WCF 2012) | No further details mentioned in WCF 2012 | Unknown |
| 4. Transportation & service corridors | 4.1 Roads & railroads | Medium | 0.81 roads/km (68 roads, survey effort: 83.559 km, WCF 2012) | Paths were the most prevalent sign of anthropogenic activities (WCF 2012) | Ongoing (2012) |
| 5. Biological resource use | 5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals | Low | 0.30 signs of hunting/km (25 signs of hunting, survey effort: 83.559 km, WCF 2012) | Signs of traditional hunting were found but there were no signs of commercial hunting (WCF 2012) | Ongoing (2012) |
| 5.3 Logging & wood harvesting | Low | 0.20 signs of wood extraction/km (17 signs of wood extraction, survey effort: 83.559 km, WCF 2012) | Signs of wood extraction for local use were recorded (WCF 2012) | Ongoing (2012) | |
| 6. Human intrusions & disturbance | Absent | ||||
| 7. Natural system modifications | Absent | ||||
| 8. Invasive & other problematic species, genes, diseases | Unknown | ||||
| 9. Pollution | Absent | ||||
| 10. Geological Events | Absent | ||||
| 11. Climate change & severe weather | Unknown | ||||
| 12. Other options | Absent |
Conservation activities
According to local authorities monitoring committees have been established by local residents and are responsible for forest monitoring to deter poachers (WCF 2012).
Table 4. Conservation activities in Gadha Woundou Classified Forest
| 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 | 5.16. Implement community control of patrolling, banning hunting and removing snares | Local residents established monitoring committees that are responsible for forest monitoring to deter poachers (WCF 2012) | Ongoing (2012) |
| 6. Human intrusions & 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 | Not reported |
Conservation activities list (Junker et al. 2017)
Challenges
Table 5. Challenges reported for Gadha Woundou Classified Forest
| Challenge | Source |
|---|---|
| Not reported |
Research activities
From 1996 to 1997 Rebecca Kormos (née Ham) did a nationwide surveys on chimpanzees across Guinea and also surveyed Gadha Woundou (Ham 1998). Woundou North was surveyed by I.S. Camara (Camara 2007) and the Wild Chimpanzee Foundation (WCF 2012).
Documented behaviours
Table 6. Great ape behaviors reported for Gadha Woundou Classified Forest
| Behavior | Source |
|---|---|
| Not reported |
References
Camara (2007) Inventaire des chimpanzes pan troglodytes verus dans la foret classée de la Woundou –nord, Prefecture de Koubia. Mémoire de fin d’études Supérieures, 41ème promotion, Institut Supérieur agronomique et vétérinaire Valéry Giscard d’Estaing de Faranah.
Ham R. 1998. Nationwide chimpanzee census and large mammal survey Republic of Guinea. Unpublished report for the European Communion, Guinea-Conakry.
UNEP-WCMC, IUCN. 2018. Protected Planet: The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA), Cambridge, UK: UNEP-WCMC and IUCN Online: www.protectedplanet.net
WCF. 2012. Etat de la faune et des menaces dans les aires protégées terrestres et principales zones de forte biodiversité de Rep. de Guinée. Report. Wild Chimpanzee Foundation, Sangaredi, Republic of Guinea. Online: Wild Chimpanzee Foundation
Page completed by: A.P.E.S. Wiki Team Date: 11/01/2019