Kahuzi-Biega National Park

Central Africa > Democratic Republic of the Congo > Kahuzi-Biega National Park

Summary

• Eastern chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) & Grauer's gorillas (Gorilla beringei graueri) are present in Kahuzi-Biega National Park.
• The great ape population size is unknown.
• The site has a total size of 6,000 km².
• Poaching is a key threat to great apes at the site.
• Conservation activities have not been documented.
• Kahuzi-Biega National Park was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1980.

Site characteristics

Kahuzi-Biega National Park (KBNP) is located in eastern DR Congo, close to the borders wth Rwanda and Burundi. KBNP holds an exceptional diversity of flora and fauna, making it one of the most important sites in the Albertine Rift Valley. The park is named after Mounts Kahuzi (3,308 m) and Biega (2,790 m). In 1937, the site was first established as the Zoological Reserve of Mt. Kahuzi, covering 750 sq. km. In 1970, Kahuzi-Biega National Park was created, initially covering 600 sq. km; in 1975 the area was extended to 6,000 sq. km. Since then, the park comprises two sectors, the low and high altitude sectors, which are linked by an ecological corridor (Pole Pole Foundation). In 1980, the site was declared a [https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/137/ UNESCO World Heritage site. KBNP is special in that the faunal and floral transition from low to highlands can be observed. With at least 1,178 plant species recorded in the highland sector, KBNP was designated as a centre of diversity for plants by IUCN and WWF in 1994 ([https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/137/ UNESCO). KBNP is home to a large proportion of the endangered Grauer's gorilla population; in fact, KBNP and Maiko National Park support the most important Grauer's gorilla populations (Plumptre et al. 2015).

Table 1. Basic site information for Kahuzi-Biega National Park

Area	6,000 km²
Coordinates
Designation	National Park
Habitat types	Subtropical/tropical moist montane forest

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Ape status

While the gorilla population in the KBNP highland sector is showing an increase, the global Grauer’s gorilla population declined across its range by 77% to 93% over the last 20 years due to civil war, with an estimated 3,800 individuals remaining in the wild (Spira et al. 2016; Plumptre et al. 2015).

Table 2. Ape population estimates in Kahuzi-Biega 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
Gorilla beringei graueri	1978-1979	223	0.37		Kahuzi-Biega National Park	Full count	Murnyak 1981
Gorilla beringei graueri	1990	258			Kahuzi-Biega National Park	Full count	Yamagiwa et al. 1993
Gorilla beringei graueri	2015	213 minimum			KBNP highland sector	Index survey (reconnaissance walk)	Spira et al. 2016

Threats

Table 3. Threats to apes in Kahuzi-Biega National Park

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Quantified severity	Description	Year of threat
1. Residential & commercial development		Unknown
2. Agriculture & aquaculture		Unknown
3. Energy production & mining	3.2 Mining & quarrying	High		Artisanal mining. Unregulated extraction of gold, tin (cassiterite), tungsten, diamond and coltan. Numerous active mining sites are present in the park. Many mines are controlled by armed militia (Plumptre et al. 2015; Spira et al. 2016).	Ongoing (2016)
4. Transportation & service corridors		Unknown
5. Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	High		High levels of subsistence hunting and bushmeat extraction, facilitated by the presence of armed militia who control mines at the site (Plumptre et al. 2015).	Ongoing (2015)
6. Human intrusion & disturbance	6.2 War, civil unrest & military exercises	High		Breakdown of government control with the onset of civil war in 1996. The Congolese wildlife authority lost control of the park; armed groups settled within its boundaries and unregulated extraction of minerals continue to fuel civil conflict in the region (Plumptre et al. 2015).	1996-2003
7. Natural system modifications		Absent
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

Table 4. Conservation activities in Kahuzi-Biega 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

The most urgent need is to demilitarize artisanal mines in and around KBNP to reduce poaching and enable the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation, ICCN, to enforce conservation laws (Spira et al. 2016).

Table 5. Challenges reported for Kahuzi-Biega National Park

Challenge	Source
Civil unrest	Plumptre et al. 2015
Lack of law enforcement	Plumptre et al. 2015

Research activities

Documented behaviours

Table 6. Ape behaviors reported for Kahuzi-Biega National Park

Behavior	Source
Not reported

External links

UNESCO World Heritage - Kahuzi-Biega National Park

Relevant datasets

A.P.E.S Portal

References

Spira, C., Mitamba, G., Kirkby, A., Kalikunguba, T., Nishuli, R. and Plumptre,A. (2016) Grauer’s Gorilla Numbers Increasing in Kahuzi-Biega National Park Highlands: 2015 Census in Tshivanga Sector. Unpublished report by the Wildlife Conservation Society.
Plumptre, A.J., Nixon, S., Critchlow, R., Vieilledent, G., Nishuli, R., Kirkby, A., Williamson, E.A., Hall, J.S. & Kujirakwinja, D. (2015). Status of Grauer’s gorilla and chimpanzees in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo: Historical and current distribution and abundance. Unpublished report to Arcus Foundation, USAID and US Fish and Wildlife Service.
Murnyak, D. F. (1981). Censusing the gorillas in Kahuzi-Biega National Park. Biol. Conservl, 21, 163-76.
Yamagiwa, J., Mwanza, N., Spangenberg, A., Maruhashi, T., Yumoto, T., Fischer, A. & Steinhauer, B.B. (1993). A census of the eastern lowland gorillas Gorilla gorilla graueri in Kahuzi-Biega National Park with reference to mountain gorillas G.g. beringei in the Virunga region, Zaire. Biol Conserv 64, 83–89.

Page completed by: A.P.E.S. Wiki Team Date: 06/12/2020