Central Africa > Democratic Republic of the Congo > Garamba National Park Complex

Summary[edit]

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Eastern chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) are present in Garamba National Park Complex.
The population size is unknown.
The population trend is unknown.
The site has a total size of 14,795 km².
Key threats to chimpanzees are poaching and armed conflict.
Conservation activities have focused on anti-poaching patrols, providing employment and non-monetary benefits to the local communities, such as healthcare.
The site is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Garamba National Park Complex map © Anne Laudisoit

Site characteristics[edit]

The Garamba National Park Complex (GNPC) is located in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Garamba National Park was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980 for its protection of critical habitat for elephants, giraffes, hippopotamuses and the critically endangered northern white rhinoceros (UNESCO 2011). Since 2005, the park has been managed by African Parks in partnership with the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN). The park spans 5,133 km2, and the adjacent domaines de chasse, or hunting areas, cover 9,662 km2. The hunting areas are: Azande, Mondo-Missa, and Gangala na Bodio (UNESCO 2011). The GNPC comprises a vast undulating plateau composed mainly of long-grass and dense bush savanna shaped by fire (UNESCO 2011). Situated between the Guinean and Sudanese biogeographic realms, the area is unusually diverse. Together with Manovo in the Central African Republic, the Garamba National Park is one of the most important habitats for a number of sudano-guinean species (UNESCO 2011). Until recently it contained the last viable natural population of northern white rhinoceros, Ceratotherium simum cottoni, which have not been recorded in the park since 2008 (UNESCO 2021). Among 42 other mammal species, over 8,800 eastern chimpanzees have been recorded for the area around the Ituri forest, Okapi and Garamba (UNESCO 2011).

Table 1. Basic site information for Garamba National Park Complex

Area	14,795 km²
Coordinates	4.192005 , 29.578278
Designation	Conservation landscape
Habitat types	Subtropical/tropical dry forest, savanna, subtropical/tropical dry grassland, subtropical/tropical swamp forest

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Camera trap image © Research and Monitoring team, GNPC, African Parks

Ape status[edit]

In 2008 a monitoring programme was set up to identify the distribution of chimpanzees (Africa Parks 2012). The monitoring involved chimpanzee tracking on foot (more than 3000 km have been covered), recording calls and counting nests. In 2011 a camera trap in the Mondo-Missa region recorded a chimpanzee (Africa Parks 2012). In 2021 and 2022 camera traps were deployed in Mondo-Missa and Azande hunting areas. Chimpanzee presence was confirmed again in Azande for the first time since 1994. The camera trap survey also led to the re-discovery of Oustalet’s red colobus (Piliocolobus oustaleti) in Azande (Diodio et al. 2022, Laudisoit 2022). Furthermore, the presence of the golden cat, giant pangolin, leopard, yellow-backed duiker, aardvark and bongo were recorded in Mondo-Missa, and the Koreri forest fragment just outside the GNPC was found to hold a high density of chimpanzees, although given its small size, the fragment might be home to 6 or 7 individuals only (Diodio et al. 2022, Laudisoit 2022).

Table 2. Ape population estimates in Garamba National Park Complex

Species	Year	Density estimate [ind./ km²] (95% CI)	Encounter rate (nests/km)	Area	Method	Source	Comments
Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii	2011		Present	Mondo Missa	Camera trap survey	AP 2012
Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii	2022		1.9	Azande	Index survey (reconnaissance walk)	Diodio et al. 2022, Laudisoit 2022
Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii	2021-2022		4.7	Gbere, Mondo-Missa	Line transects (Distance) and Index survey (reconnaissance walk)	Diodio et al. 2022, Laudisoit 2022	152 chimpanzee nests were recorded along one 1.4 km transect; 5 individuals were identified
Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii	2021		7.3	Buru, Mondo-Missa	Line transects (Distance) and Index survey (reconnaissance walk)	Diodio et al. 2022, Laudisoit 2022	54 nests were recorded along 1.8 km transect and 7.28 km recce; 11 individuals were identified
Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii	2022		0	Kurukwata-Planteki fragment (1km2)	Index survey (reconnaissance walk)	Diodio et al. 2022, Laudisoit 2022	5.9km recce walked. The forest fragment is outside of the GNPC
Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii	2022	8.5	5.3	Kurukwata-Koreri fragment (0.7km2)	Index survey (reconnaissance walk)	Diodio et al. 2022, Laudisoit 2022	42 chimpanzee nests were recorded along our 7.9 km recce (N=2) of which 5 flimsy ground nests. The forest fragment is outside of the GNPC

Threats[edit]

Table 3. Threats to apes in Garamba National Park Complex

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Description	Year of threat
1. Residential & commercial development		Unknown
2. Agriculture & aquaculture	2.1 Annual & perennial non-timber crops	High	Slash-and-burn agriculture and habitat conversion in Buru and in the Kurukwata-Planteki forest fragment (Diodio et al. 2022, Laudisoit 2022).	Ongoing (2022)
3. Energy production & mining	3.2 Mining & quarrying	High	Small scale gold mining in Mondo-Missa. A total of 18 mine pits were recorded and collateral damage to the forest is visible with logged trees and slash-and-burnt areas to the west of the gallery forest (Diodio et al. 2022, Laudisoit 2022).	Ongoing (2022)
4. Transportation & service corridors		Unknown
5. Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	High	Poaching by nationals and trans-border armed groups (UNESCO 2021). Poachers made up of South Sudanese armed groups, the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) and others, mainly target the region’s remaining elephants for their ivory (Africa Parks).	Ongoing (2021)
	5.3 Logging & wood harvesting	High	In Buru and Kurukwata-Planteki, logging, slash-and-burn practice and habitat conversion is the main threat (Diodio et al. 2022, Laudisoit 2022).	Ongoing (2022)
6. Human intrusion & disturbance	6.2 War, civil unrest & military exercises	High	Armed conflict and political instability threatening flagship species of the park (UNESCO 2021).	Ongoing (2021)
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[edit]

Table 4. Conservation activities in Garamba National Park Complex

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	The site has a canine unit available to improve surveillance in the park. The number of guards increased from 243 to 286 in 2021. The number of patrols has also increased, from 447 in 2018 to 744 in 2020, leading to arrests and seizures of illegal products (UNESCO 2021).	Ongoing (2021)
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)	Garamba employs over 500 full-time local staff with 2,000 more on short-term contracts (Africa Parks).	Ongoing
	13.2. Provide non-monetary benefits to local communities for sustainably managing their forest and its wildlife (e.g. better education, infrastructure development)	Access to health care and various activities covering educational to environmental services is provided to the park's staff and local communities as part of a sustainable development strategy (UNESCO 2021).	Ongoing (2021)

Conservation activities list (Junker et al. 2017)

Biomonitoring GNPC © Anne Laudisoit

Challenges[edit]

Table 5. Challenges reported for Garamba National Park Complex

Challenge	Source
Not reported

Research activities[edit]

In the early 1950s a wealth of taxonomic information was gathered in an expedition, which was made available in a series of publications. In the early 1970s, the FAO gathered information on the rhinoceros and flew an aerial census of large mammal species. Since 1984, as part of a rehabilitation project, the rhino population has been investigated and monitored; general ecosystem monitoring was carried out, including aerial counts, vegetation description and habitat mapping. An experimental burning programme was also tested (UNESCO 2021). In 2022, a survey team documented the presence of Oustalet’s Red Colobus in the Azande hunting area. While P. oustaleti is probably the most abundant of the 18 red colobus taxa documented to date, they were considered vulnerable during the last CITES assessment, mostly due to habitat degradation and loss. The GNPC and Azande DC in particular thus represent strongholds for the species away from anthropogenic landscapes (Diodio et al. 2022, Laudisoit 2022).

Documented behaviours[edit]

Table 6. Ape behaviors reported for Garamba National Park Complex

Behavior	Source
Ground nesting	Diodio et al. 2022, Laudisoit 2022

External links[edit]

African Parks - Garamba

References[edit]

Diodio, A.S., Vogel, J., Diana, D.K., Massini, J.M., Edouard, D.N., Minahilo, R.G., Esube, R.L., Lugala, D.K., Antonínová, M., Jérôme, A. and Laudisoit, A. (2022). A decade of silent chimpanzee monitoring in the Garamba Complex, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Abstracts of the conference of the European Federation for Primatology (EFP), 1-3 June 2022, Royal Burgers’ Zoo, Arnhem, The Netherlands.
Laudisoit A. (2022). Chimpanzee monitoring within the Garamba NP Complex. Internal Report. Year 2021-2022. 26p. Delivered to African Parks Network.
UNESCO (2021). State of conservation: Garamba National Park. Online: https://whc.unesco.org/en/soc/4023
UNESCO (2011). Garamba National Park. Online: http://world-heritage-datasheets.unep-wcmc.org/datasheet/output/site/garamba-national-park/

Page completed by: Anne Laudisoit & A.P.E.S. Wiki team Date: 21/02/2023

Garamba National Park Complex

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