Itombwe Nature Reserve

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Summary

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Leaflet

• Eastern chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) and Grauer's gorillas (Gorilla beringei graueri) are present in Itombwe Nature Reserve.
• In 2009 the estimated chimpanzee population was approximately 6,302 individuals; the gorilla population size is unknown.
• The great ape population trend is unknown.
• The site has a total size of 6,000 km².
• Key threats to great apes are illegal hunting and logging in connection to illegal mining operations by armed groups.
• Conservation activities have focused on anti-poaching patrols, monitoring with SMART, and sensitization campaigns.

Site characteristics

Itombwe Nature Reserve is situated in the southern part of the Maiko-Taina-Kahuzi-Biega landscape in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The site consists of a large forest block in the Albertine Rift, an important area for great apes. Several peaks of the Itombwe Massif, where the reserve is located, rise above 3,000 m, the highest being Mt. Mohi at 3,475 m (BirdLife International 2020). Itombwe Nature Reserve is also an Endemic Bird Area, an Important Bird Area (563 species have been recorded), an Alliance for Zero Extinction site and a Key Biodiversity Area under the Eastern Afromontane Hotspot (Kujirakwinja et al. 2019). Notably, the Critically Endangered Grauer's gorilla is present at the site. Other mammals of conservation concern present at the site include eastern chimpanzees and forest elephants. At least 21 amphibian taxa have been recorded at the reserve above 1,500 m, most of which have a limited distribution and six are endemic (BirdLife International 2020).

Table 1. Basic site information for Itombwe Nature Reserve

Species	'Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii
Area	6,000 km²
Coordinates	Lat: -3.672696 , Lon: 28.136638
Type of site	Protected area (Nature Reserve)
Habitat types	Subtropical/tropical moist montane forest
Type of governance

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Ape status

Table 2. Ape population estimates reported for Itombwe Nature Reserve

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 schweinfurthii	2009			0.63	6,302	Itombwe Massif, 10,000 sq. km	Reconnaissance walk		Plumptre et al. 2010

Threats

Destruction and degradation of the forest followed by large-scale mining has been a key threat at Itombwe. The region has been impacted by armed conflict among refugees who fled the Rwandan genocide in 1994 (Kujirakwinja et al. 2019). Large numbers of people settled and converted the forest for agriculture and pasture land. The discovery of valuable minerals such as coltan and cassiterite exacerbated the situation, as armed groups in the region took control of various parts of the massif and fight for these resources (WWF).

Table 3. Threats to apes reported for Itombwe Nature Reserve

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Description	Year of threat
10 Geological events		Absent
3 Energy production & mining	3.2 Mining & quarrying	High (more than 70% of population affected)	Mining operations by armed groups (see item 6; WWF).	Ongoing
6 Human intrusions & disturbance	6.2 War, civil unrest & military exercises	High (more than 70% of population affected)	Surveys conducted by the WCS during 2003–2006 found increasing threats and the presence of several armed groups controlling various parts of the Itombwe Massif (Kujirakwinja et al. 2019).	Ongoing (2019)
12 Other threat	12.1 Other threat	High (more than 70% of population affected)	Habitat fragmentation (Maldonado et al. 2020).	Ongoing (2020)
5 Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	Present (unknown severity)	Bushmeat hunting (WWF).	Ongoing
5 Biological resource use	5.3 Logging & wood harvesting	Present (unknown severity)	Artisanal logging (WWF).	Ongoing
1 Residential & commercial development		Unknown
2 Agriculture & aquaculture		Unknown
4 Transportation & service corridors		Unknown
7 Natural system modifications		Unknown
8 Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseases		Unknown
9 Pollution		Unknown
11 Climate change & severe weather		Unknown

IUCN Threats list

Conservation activities

Table 4. Conservation activities reported for Itombwe Nature Reserve

Category	Specific activity	Description	Implementing organization(s)	Year of activity
2 Counter-wildlife crime	2.3 Conduct regular anti-poaching patrols	ICCN eco-guards carry out patrols (Berggorilla & Regenwald).		Ongoing
2 Counter-wildlife crime	2.11 Implement monitoring surveillance strategies (e.g., SMART) or use monitoring data to improve effectiveness of patrols	Data collected during patrols are stored and analysed by the guards with support from WCS and WWF using the SMART tool (Berggorilla & Regenwald).		Ongoing
4 Education & awareness	4.1 Educate local communities about apes and sustainable use	ICCN teams in collaboration with NGO partners are carrying out sensitization campaigns among the communities to ensure their participation in the conservation of the reserve (Berggorilla & Regenwald).		Ongoing
5 Protection & restoration	5.2 Legally protect ape habitat	The site is designated as a Nature Reserve.		Ongoing

Conservation activities list (Junker et al. 2017)

Challenges

The Minister for the Environment in Kishasa declared that a reserve would be established in Itombwe Massif, and the gazettement of the reserve was written in October 2006. However, no boundaries were delimited in the gazettement document, and this created anger and confusion amongst the communities of the Itombwe Massif, as they had not been consulted about the reserve (Kujirakwinja et al. 2019). Approximately 675,800 people live in or around the Itombwe Reserve (Kujirakwinja et al. 2019). A long process of participatory mapping of the boundaries began in 2010 with Africapacity, Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature, WCS and WWF staff participating in consultations with each of 550 villages within and around the proposed boundary of the reserve (Kujirakwinja et al. 2019). This process was completed in 2014, and in 2016 the governor of South Kivu signed the official designation of the boundaries of Itombwe Natural Reserve (Kujirakwinja et al. 2019).

Table 5. Challenges reported for Itombwe Nature Reserve

Challenges	Specific challenges	Source	Year(s)
3 Engaged community	3.1 General lack of community engagement or support	Kujirakwinja et al. 2019

Enablers

Table 6. Enablers reported for Itombwe Nature Reserve

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

Plumptre, A.J., Kujirakwinja, D., Ayebare, S., Mitamba, G., Muhindo, E., & Twendilonge, A. (2013). Plan de Zonage de la Réserve Naturelle d'Itombwe.Unpublished Report to Wildlife Conservation Society.

Documented behaviours

Table 7. Behaviours documented for Itombwe Nature Reserve

Behavior	Source
Not reported

References

BirdLife International (2020) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Itombwe Mountains. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 30/12/2020.

Kujirakwinja, D., Plumptre, A., Twendilonge, A., Mitamba, G., Mubalama, L., Wasso, J., . . . Tshombe, R. (2019). Establishing the Itombwe Natural Reserve: Science, participatory consultations and zoning. Oryx, 53(1), 49-57. doi:10.1017/S0030605317001478

Plumptre, A.J., Rose, R., Nangendo, G., Williamson, E.A., Didier, K., Hart, J., Mulindahabi, F., Hicks, C., Griffin, B., Ogawa, H., Nixon, S., Pintea, L., Vosper, A., McClennan, M., Amsini, F., McNeilage, A., Makana, J.R., Kanamori, M., Hernandez, A., Piel, A., Stewart, F., Moore, J., Zamma, K., Nakamura, M., Kamenya, S., Idani, G., Sakamaki, T., Yoshikawa, M., Greer, D., Tranquilli, S., Beyers, R., Furuichi, T., Hashimoto, C. and Bennett, E. (2010). Eastern Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii): Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan 2010–2020. IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group, Gland, Switzerland. 52pp.

Maldonado, O., Aveling, C., Cox, D., Nixon, S., Nishuli, R., Merlo, D., Pintea, L. & Williamson, E.A. (2012). Grauer’s Gorillas and Chimpanzees in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (Kahuzi-Biega, Maiko, Tayna and Itombwe Landscape): Conservation Action Plan 2012–2022. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group, Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation & Tourism, Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature & the Jane Goodall Institute. 66pp.

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