Ivindo National Park

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Central Africa > Gabon > Ivindo National Park

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Summary

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  • Central chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) & western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) are present in Ivindo National Park.
  • The great ape population size is unknown.
  • The population trend is unknown.
  • The site has a total size of 3,000 km².
  • Poaching is a key threat to great apes at the site.
  • Conservation activities have focused on monitoring and research activities.


Site characteristics

Ivindo National Park is located in the central area of Gabon. The site was declared a national park in 2002. Archaeological findings near the park show human habitation as early as 120,000 BP (WCS). Within the park, the famous Langoué baï is found. Langoué baï is an ancient forest clearing, frequently visited by forest elephants, gorillas, forest buffalos, red river hogs, and a resident population of sitatunga (WCS). Langoué baï serves as the base for the Wildlife Conservation Society Gabon’s Forest Program, which protects and monitors populations of gorillas and elephants. Leopards, aardvarks, pangolins, and central chimpanzees are also found at the site. At least 397 species of birds have been identified at Ivindo, including the rare picarthes (Rayden & Essame Essono 2010).

Table 1. Basic site information for Ivindo National Park

Species Pan troglodytes troglodytes, Gorilla gorilla gorilla
Area 3,000 km²
Coordinates Lat: 0.184631 N , Lon: 12.650341 E
Type of site Protected area (National Park)
Habitat types Subtropical/tropical moist lowland forest
Type of governance

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Ape status

Table 2. Ape population estimates reported for Ivindo National Park

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 troglodytes & Gorilla gorilla gorilla Unknown

Threats

The park is surrounded by forestry concessions, which can have negative impacts if the forestry companies do not adhere to legal requirements for the control of illegal hunting (Rayden & Essame Essono 2010). A 2010 study found that a large number of the forestry companies are not legally compliant and improvements need to be made to control illegal hunting in the surrounding concessions (Rayden & Essame Essono 2010).

Table 3. Threats to apes reported for Ivindo National Park

Category Specific threats Threat level Description Year of threat
1 Residential & commercial development Unknown
2 Agriculture & aquaculture Unknown
3 Energy production & mining Unknown
4 Transportation & service corridors Unknown
5 Biological resource use 5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals Present, but threat severity is unknown Hunting linked to the presence of forestry concessions around the park (Rayden & Essame Essono 2010). Ongoing (2010)
5 Biological resource use 5.3 Logging & wood harvesting Present, but threat severity is unknown Commercial logging around the park (Rayden & Essame Essono 2010). Ongoing (2010)
6 Human intrusions & disturbance Unknown
7 Natural system modifications Unknown
8 Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseases Unknown
9 Pollution Absent
10 Geological events Absent
11 Climate change & severe weather Unknown
12 Other threat Absent

IUCN Threats list

Conservation activities

Table 4. Conservation activities reported for Ivindo National Park

Category Specific activity Description Implementing organization(s) Year of activity
5 Protection & restoration 5.2 Legally protect ape habitat The site is a designated National Park. Ongoing

Conservation activities list (Junker et al. 2017)

Challenges

Communities were not consulted before the park was established, and are not involved in the park management (Lang, 2016).

Table 5. Challenges reported for Ivindo National Park

Challenges Specific challenges Source Year(s)
Not reported

Enablers

Table 6. Enablers reported for Ivindo National Park

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

Since 2003, WCS Gabon has had a near-permanent presence at the Langoué research station. Monitoring of gorillas first took place between 2001 and 2008; in 2013 monitoring and research activities were resumed. This research has shown a currently unidentified skin condition is prevalent in many groups, in some severe cases causing deep lesions (WCS).

Documented behaviours

Table 7. Behaviours documented for Ivindo National Park

Behavior Source
Not reported

Exposure to climate change impacts

External links

Parcs Gabon - Parc National de l’Ivindo

Gabon Wildlife Camps - Ivindo National Park

Relevant datasets

References

Rayden, T., & Essame Essono, R. (2010). Evaluation of the management of wildlife in the forestry concessions around the national parks of Lopé, Waka and Ivindo, Gabon. Report to the WCS.

Lang, C. (2016). Human rights abuses and livelihood impacts at the Ivindo National Park in Gabon. Online: https://medium.com/conservationwatch/human-rights-abuses-and-livelihood-impacts-at-the-ivindo-national-park-in-gabon-d8f00b511d3f


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