Misotshi-Kabogo (Ngamikka Proposed National Park)

Central Africa > Democratic Republic of the Congo > Misotshi-Kabogo (Ngamikka Proposed National Park)

Summary

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• Eastern chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) are present in Misotshi-Kabogo.
• It has been estimated that 977 (+/-252 SE) individuals occur in the site.
• The chimpanzee population trend is unknown.
• The site has a total size of 1000 km².
• Key threats to chimpanzees are artisanal gold mining and habitat encroachment.
• Conservation activities are not documented; the site is a proposed protected area.

Site characteristics

The Misotshi-Kabogo (formerly Kabobo) region of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo consists of approx. 1,000 sq km of medium altitude and montane rainforest ranging from 770-2,725 metres on the escarpment to the west of Lake Tanganyika. Few forests are left in Africa with this altitudinal range, making the area particularly important for biodiversity conservation (Plumptre et al. 2008). The total number of mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian and plant species recorded from this region number 1,605, of which 76 species are endemic to the Albertine Rift (WCS).

Table 1. Basic site information for Misotshi-Kabogo (Ngamikka Proposed National Park)

Area	1000 km²
Coordinates	-5.342083 S, 29.151380 E
Designation	Proposed protected area
Habitat types	Subtropical/tropical moist montane forest, grassland

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Ape status

In 2007, the Wildlife Conservation Society led a team of researchers from the WCS Uganda and DRC, The Field Museum in Chicago, ICCN and WWF to survey the area; previously, it had been impossible to visit the region for more than 50 years due to rebel activity (Plumptre et al. 2008).

Table 2. Ape population estimates in Misotshi-Kabogo (Ngamikka Proposed 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 schweinfurthii	2007	977 (+/-252 SE)	0.72-1.22		804 sq km	Line transects (Distance)	Plumptre et al. 2008	survey effort: 133.4 km

Threats

Compared to other areas in the Albertine Rift, signs of human impact are reportedly lower. Most impacts appear near the southern edge of the site, where people are settling and cultivating (Plumptre et al. 2008). Deeper in the forest (and at higher altitudes), the site has been impacted by artisanal gold mining. Mining in the area started many years ago; following independence in 1960, Laurent Kabila started a business of mining gold in the forest and exporting it to Tanzania to support his rebellion in the region. Mining continued throughout the 1960s and 1970s until he was removed from the forest in 1980. More recently, gold mining is carried out mostly by migrants from Bukavu and Uvira; local people do not feel that the rewards from mining make it worth the while (Plumptre et al. 2008).

Table 3. Threats to apes in Misotshi-Kabogo (Ngamikka Proposed National Park)

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Quantified severity	Description	Year of threat
1. Residential & commercial development		Unknown
2. Agriculture & aquaculture	2.1 Annual & perennial non-timber crops	Present, but threat severity unknown		Cultivations in the southern edge of the site (Plumptre et al. 2008).	Ongoing (2008)
3. Energy production & mining	3.2 Mining & quarrying	Present, but threat severity unknown		Artisanal gold mining (Plumptre et al. 2008).	Ongoing (2008)
4. Transportation & service corridors		Unknown
5. Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	Present, but threat severity unknown		Hunting of large mammals (ungulates and primates), although hunting of chimpanzees is a taboo in the Babembe culture. Hunting using shotguns; snares more uncommon (Plumptre et al. 2008).	Ongoing (2008)
	5.3 Logging & wood harvesting	Present, but threat severity unknown	Timber exploitation (Plumptre et al. 2008).		Ongoing (2008)
6. Human intrusion & disturbance		Unknown
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

WCS has been working with villages around the forest of Misotshi-Kabogo to delineate the boundaries of a proposed national park. The proposed Ngamikka National Park would be connected to Luama Katanga hunting reserve, together forming 4,000 sq km of natural habitat and conserving at least 1,500 chimpanzees as well as endemic species to the area (Plumptre et al. 2010, WCS).

Table 4. Conservation activities in Misotshi-Kabogo (Ngamikka Proposed National Park)

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	Not reported
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	Not reported

Conservation activities list (Junker et al. 2017)

Challenges

Table 5. Challenges reported for Misotshi-Kabogo (Ngamikka Proposed National Park)

Challenge	Source
Not reported

Research activities

Documented behaviours

Table 6. Ape behaviors reported for Misotshi-Kabogo (Ngamikka Proposed National Park)

Behavior	Source
Not reported

External links

Relevant datasets

A.P.E.S Portal

References

Plumptre, A.J., Kujirakwinja, D., Matunguru, J., Kahindo, C., Kaleme, P, Marks, B., and Huhndorf M. 2008. Biodiversity surveys in the Misotshi-Kabogo and Marungu regions of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo with a focus on chimpanzees. Albertine Rift Technical Reports No. 5. https://albertinerift.wcs.org/DesktopModules/Bring2mind/DMX/API/Entries/Download?EntryId=11614&PortalId=49&DownloadMethod=attachment
Plumptre, A.J., Kujirakwinja, D., Bamba, A., and Shamavu, P. (2010). Creating the Misotshi-Kabogo Protected Area In Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Final Report for USFWS Project 98210 – 8– G531.

Page completed by: A.P.E.S. Wiki team Date: 18/02/2022