Eastern block (Tshuapa-Lomami-Lualaba, TL2)

Central Africa > Democratic Republic of the Congo > Eastern block (Tshuapa-Lomami-Lualaba, TL2)

Summary

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• Bonobos (Pan paniscus) are present in Eastern block (Tshuapa-Lomami-Lualaba, TL2).
• It has been estimated that a minimum of 5,000 individuals occur in the site.
• The population trend is unknown.
• The site has a total size of 20,000 km².
• Key threats to bonobos are poaching, habitat destruction and degradation, risk of disease transmission.
• Conservation activities are not documented.

Site characteristics

Unlike the Northern, Southern and Western blocks, most of the Eastern block (also known as the Tshuapa-Lomami-Lualaba or TL2 block) is not part of a Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP) or Commission des Forêts d’Afrique Centrale (CFAC) landscape, because its biological importance was only revealed since 2007, through surveys (IUCN & ICCN 2012). The block stresches from from the Tshuapa River basin in the west to the Lualaba (Congo) River in the east. The western part of TL2 is contiguous with the Sankuru Natural Reserve. Lomami National Park is found within the TL2 block.

Table 1. Basic site information for Eastern block (Tshuapa-Lomami-Lualaba, TL2)

Area	20,000 km²
Coordinates	-1.711684, 25.061206
Designation	Unclassified
Habitat types	Subtropical/tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical/tropical swamp forest, moist savanna

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Ape status

Through analysis of all available data from surveys conducted between 2003–2010, it has been estimated that there is a minimum population of 5,000 individuals in the Tshuapa-Lomami-Lualaba block, making it an important stronghold for bonobos (IUCN & ICCN 2012).

Table 2. Ape population estimates in Eastern block (Tshuapa-Lomami-Lualaba, TL2)

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 paniscus	2003-2010	>5,000			Eastern block (Tshuapa-Lomami-Lualaba, TL2)	Model estimate	[IUCN & ICCN 2012]

Threats

Although large parts of the area are uninhabited, bonobos and other wildlife are under intense pressure from the commercial bushmeat trade. In addition, the presence of slash-and-burn agriculture and artisanal logging are also threats in the TL2 block. No industrial logging or mining operations exist in the area, but parts of the forest are fragmented in and around the Sankuru reserve (IUCN & ICCN 2012).

Table 3. Threats to apes in Eastern block (Tshuapa-Lomami-Lualaba, TL2)

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		Slash-and-burn agriculture (IUCN & ICCN 2012).	Ongoing (2012)
3. Energy production & mining		Unknown
4. Transportation & service corridors		Unknown
5. Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	High		Intense hunting pressure from commercial bushmeat trade (IUCN & ICCN 2012).	Ongoing (2012)
	5.3 Logging & wood harvesting	Low		Artisanal logging (IUCN & ICCN 2012).	Ongoing (2012)
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

Table 4. Conservation activities in Eastern block (Tshuapa-Lomami-Lualaba, TL2)

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 Eastern block (Tshuapa-Lomami-Lualaba, TL2)

Challenge	Source
Lack of law enforcement	IUCN & ICCN 2012

Research activities

Documented behaviours

Table 6. Ape behaviors reported for Eastern block (Tshuapa-Lomami-Lualaba, TL2)

Behavior	Source
Not reported

References

IUCN & ICCN (2012). Bonobo (Pan paniscus): Conservation Strategy 2012–2022. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group & Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature. 65 pp. Online: https://www.iucngreatapes.org/bonobo

Page completed by: A.P.E.S. Wiki team Date: 30/05/2022