Sarambwe Nature Reserve

Central Africa > Democratic Republic of the Congo > Sarambwe Nature Reserve

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Summary

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• Mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) and eastern chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) are present in Sarambwe Nature Reserve.
• The site is part of the Bwindi-Sarambwe ecosystem, for which the mountain gorilla population has been estimated at 459 individuals.
• The gorilla population trend is increasing.
• The site has a total size of 9 km².
• Key threats to great apes are poaching and habitat loss due to human activities encroaching the site.
• Conservation activities have focused on patrols, demarcation of boundaries, and beekeeping for income.
• The site is contiguous with Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda.

Site characteristics

Sarambwe Nature Reserve is located at the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. The site is contiguous with Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. There are six species of primates present in the reserve: mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei), chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes), baboon (Papio anubis), black-and-white colobus (Colobus guereza), blue monkey (Cercopithecus mitis) and red-tailed monkey (Cercopithecus ascanius) (Kiyengo 2019).

Table 1. Basic site information for Sarambwe Nature Reserve

Species	'Gorilla beringei beringei
Area	9 km²
Coordinates	Lat: -0.985875 , Lon: 29.585890
Type of site	Protected area (Nature Reserve)
Habitat types	Subtropical/tropical montane forest, Agricultural land
Type of governance

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Ape status

Sarambwe is adjacent to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park; together they form the Bwindi-Sarambwe ecosystem. The gorilla population occupies the entire transboundary area.

Table 2. Ape population estimates reported for Sarambwe 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
Gorilla beringei beringei	2018				459	Sarambwe Nature Reserve and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park	Reconnaissance walk		Hickey et al. 2019

Threats

Before 1998, when the ICCN (Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation) took over management of Sarambwe, the borders between DRC and Uganda were clearly delineated by cairns (Kiyengo 2019). However, starting from that year, the cairns and their concrete bases were removed. It was only a few years later that Ugandan nationals began encroaching gradually into the reserve, eventually occupying approximately one third of its territory. These encroachers placed border markers within the reserve, albeit inaccurately (Kiyengo 2019).

Table 3. Threats to apes reported for Sarambwe Nature Reserve

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Description	Year of threat
10 Geological events		Absent
12 Other threat		Absent
2 Agriculture & aquaculture	2.1 Annual & perennial non-timber crops	Present (unknown severity)	Encroachment of one third of the reserve, conversion of land for agriculture (Kiyengo 2019, Kiyengo 2021).	1998-Ongoing (2021)
2 Agriculture & aquaculture	2.3 Livestock farming & ranching	Present (unknown severity)	Grazing of domestic animals (Kiyengo 2019, Kiyengo 2021).	1998-Ongoing (2021)
5 Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	Present (unknown severity)	Hunting and poaching (Kiyengo 2019, Kiyengo 2021).	1998-Ongoing (2021)
5 Biological resource use	5.3 Logging & wood harvesting	Present (unknown severity)	Sawing of timber (Kiyengo 2019, Kiyengo 2021).	1998-Ongoing (2021)
6 Human intrusions & disturbance	6.2 War, civil unrest & military exercises	Present (unknown severity)	Poaching and destructive activities resulting from civil unrest and insecurity (Kiyengo 2023).	Ongoing (2023)
7 Natural system modifications	7.1 Fire & fire suppression	Present (unknown severity)	Seasonal fires (Kiyengo 2019).	1998-Ongoing (2019)
1 Residential & commercial development		Unknown
3 Energy production & mining		Unknown
4 Transportation & service corridors		Unknown
8 Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseases		Unknown
9 Pollution		Unknown
11 Climate change & severe weather		Unknown

IUCN Threats list

Conservation activities

Between 2002 and 2019, efforts were made to address the issue of encroachment (Kiyengo 2019). Regular reports were submitted to the relevant authorities, leading to the arrest of Ugandan farmers on multiple occasions. Additionally, various tools such as planks, machetes, hoes, and pit saws were confiscated, and dogs were euthanized. Ugandan poachers were also apprehended during this period. More recently, goats were seized and subsequently returned to their owners in Uganda after negotiations, with the Ugandan authorities and their army present. Furthermore, there was an incident where ICCN rangers were detained by Ugandan soldiers and taken into Uganda before being released (Kiyengo 2019).

Table 4. Conservation activities reported for Sarambwe Nature Reserve

Category	Specific activity	Description	Implementing organization(s)	Year of activity
2 Counter-wildlife crime	2.3 Conduct regular anti-poaching patrols	Patrols have been conducted by rangers, and when rangers were removed from their posts, trackers continued patrolling (Kiyengo 2020, Kiyengo 2021).		1998-Ongoing (2021)
5 Protection & restoration	5.2 Legally protect ape habitat	The site is a protected area.		1976-Ongoing (2024)
5 Protection & restoration	5.5 Demarcate and enforce boundaries of protected areas	Kiyengo 2019		2019

Conservation activities list (Junker et al. 2017)

Challenges

On October 10, 2020, an assault on the Sarambwe ranger post led to the tragic loss of a ranger's life. Following this incident, the ICCN withdrew both the rangers and the stationed military personnel. As a result, illegal activities increased in some areas of the reserve. Throughout 2020, trackers who continued patrolling the site, managed to effectively safeguard it without the aid of rangers, military personnel, or firearms (Kiyengo 2020).

Table 5. Challenges reported for Sarambwe Nature Reserve

Challenges	Specific challenges	Source	Year(s)
4 Institutional support	4.4 Lack of transboundary cooperation	Kiyengo 2019
6 Safety and stability	6.2 Insecurity	Kiyengo 2020
6 Safety and stability	6.3 Civil unrest/war	Kiyengo 2023

Enablers

Table 6. Enablers reported for Sarambwe 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

Documented behaviours

Table 7. Behaviours documented for Sarambwe Nature Reserve

Behavior	Source
Not reported

References

Hickey, J.R., Uzabaho, E., Akantorana, M., Arinaitwe, J., Bakebwa, I., Bitariho, R., Eckardt, W., Gilardi, K.V., Katutu, J., Kayijamahe, C., Kierepka, E.M., Mugabukomeye, B., Musema, A., Mutabaazi, H., Robbins, M.M., Sacks, B.N., and Zikusoka, G.K. 2019. BwindiSarambwe 2018 Surveys: monitoring mountain gorillas, other select mammals, and human activities. GVTC, IGCP & partners, Kampala, Uganda, 40p.

Kiyengo, C. S. (2019). End in Sight for the Conflict over the Sarambwe Nature Reserve. Volume (58), 3-5. https://www.berggorilla.org/en/gorillas/countries/artikel-countries/end-in-sight-for-the-conflict-over-the-sarambwe-nature-reserve/

Kiyengo, C. S. (2020). Deadly Attack on the Ranger Post of Sarambwe Nature Reserve. Volume (61), 13-15. https://www.berggorilla.org/en/gorillas/protected-areas-for-gorillas/protected-areas-for-gorillas/deadly-attack-on-the-sarambwe-ranger-post/

Kiyengo, C. S. (2021). A Year of Protection of the Sarambwe Nature Reserve by Trackers Unsupported by Rangers: Results and Lessons Learnt. Volume (63), 3-5. https://www.berggorilla.org/en/journal/issues/journal-63-22021/article-view/?tx_news_pi1%5Bnews%5D=1106&tx_news_pi1%5Bcontroller%5D=News&tx_news_pi1%5Baction%5D=detail&cHash=fd048c27eb99c12fc6992e8704041815

Kiyengo, C. S. (2023).The Beekeeping Project in Sarambwe Nature Reserve. Volume (66), 8-9. https://www.berggorilla.org/en/gorillas/protected-areas-for-gorillas/protected-areas-for-gorillas/bienenhaltung-rings-um-sarambwe/

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