Ziama Biosphere Reserve

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Summary

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Leaflet

• Western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) are present in Ziama Biosphere Reserve.
• It has been estimated that less than 20 chimpanzees occur at the site.
• The chimpanzee population trend is stable.
• This site has a total size of 1,162 km².
• Key threats to chimpanzees are hunting, agricultural activities, roads and deforestation.
• The following conservation activities are ongoing: law enforcement, bio-monitoring and reducing illegal agricultural activities.
• Ziama Biosphere Reserve has the last population of forest elephants in Guinea.

Site characteristics

Ziama Biosphere Reserve (also called Massif du Ziama, Ziama Classified Forest) is located in southern Guinea and is contiguous with Wonegizi Nature Reserve in Liberia (UNEP-WCMC and IUCN 2018). It is designated a Classified Forest (IUCN category not reported, UNEP-WCMC and IUCN 2018) and is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve since 1980 (UNESCO MAB 2007). The forest is located in Guinée forestière, one of four Guinean natural regions, and is part of the region N'Zérékoré. Ziama massif is part of the Guinea Highlands and the altitude of the area ranges from 500 to 1,387 m (UNESCO MAB 2007). Due to its diverse topographic features, including mountains, valleys and plateaus, Ziama forest features different habitat types: primary mountain forests, secondary mountain forests, and secondary lowland forest, swamps and savannas (UNESCO MAB 2007). The terrain is very rugged and annual rainfall ranges from 1,700 to 2,000 mm (BirdLife International 2018).

Table 1. Basic site information for Ziama Biosphere Reserve

Species	'Pan troglodytes verus
Area	1,162 km²
Coordinates	Lat: 8.28 , Lon: -9.34
Type of site	Protected area (Classified Forest)
Habitat types	Subtropical/tropical moist montane forest, Subtropical/tropical moist lowland forest, Savanna, Wetlands (lakes, rivers, streams, bogs, marshes), Agricultural land
Type of governance

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Ape status

Based on a nation-wide questionnaire survey, the presence of western chimpanzees was confirmed by Sugiyama & Soumah (1988). In a nationwide survey Rebecca Kormos identified Ziama Biosphere Reserve as the second most important priority area for western chimpanzee conservation in Guinea due to high chimpanzee densities encountered during reconnaissance surveys (Ham 1998). However, a recent nationwide survey by the Wild Chimpanzee Foundation found very low densities of chimpanzee signs and was therefore not able to estimate total chimpanzee abundance (WCF 2012). WCF concluded that less than 20 individuals remain and are restricted to high altitude areas that are unsuitable for agriculture (2012).

Table 2. Ape population estimates reported for Ziama Biosphere 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
Pan troglodytes verus	1988	Present			50	Ziama forest	Interviews		Sugiyama & Soumah 1988	Questionnaire survey
Pan troglodytes verus	1997					Ziama forest	Reconnaissance walk		Ham 1998	Reconnaissance survey
Pan troglodytes verus	2012		0.04		20	Ziama forest	Line transects		WCF 2012	Total survey effort: 157 km, encounter rate was too low to estimate total abundance, the value given is an approximation
Pan troglodytes verus	2016					Ziama forest	Reconnaissance walk		FFI

Threats

Ziama forest was shown to have a high prevalence of anthropogenic pressures (WCF 2012). Already in the 1990s hunting was recognized as a major threat to chimpanzees (Ham 1998) and during their recent survey of the area WCF also found a very high density of hunting signs (WCF 2012). A survey by FFI in 2016 revealed that illegal agricultural activities in wetlands, i.e., bas-fonds farming, led to large-scale forest fragmentation (FFI 2018). Threats are especially prevalent along the northern forest border where several villages and roads can be found (WCF 2012). This is also where a major road connecting the urban centres of Macenta and N’Zérékoré passes through, resulting in high rates of deforestation and hunting in the two northern forest enclaves (WCF 2012). The two southern forest enclaves close to the border with Liberia had been the scene of territorial conflicts during the war in Liberia, which led to the serious degradation of the forest (WCF 2012).

Table 3. Threats to apes reported for Ziama Biosphere Reserve

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Description	Year of threat
3 Energy production & mining		Absent
6 Human intrusions & disturbance		Absent
7 Natural system modifications		Absent
10 Geological events		Absent
12 Other threat		Absent
2 Agriculture & aquaculture	2.1 Annual & perennial non-timber crops	High (more than 70% of population affected)	Illegal agriculture across large areas of the forest (WCF 2012), especially bas-fonds farming in wetlands (FFI 2018).	Ongoing (2022)
5 Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	High (more than 70% of population affected)	Hunting consistently mentioned as a major threat (Ham 1998, WCF 2012).	Ongoing (2022)
1 Residential & commercial development	1.1 Residential areas	Medium (30-70% of population affected)	Recent expansion of village settlements (WCF 2012).	After 2005
4 Transportation & service corridors	4.1 Roads & railroads	Medium (30-70% of population affected)	Recent extension of roads around villages in the North (WCF 2012). National road crosses the PA, as well as roads that connect enclaves to the national road (Estela, N. pers. Comm. 2022).	Ongoing (2022)
5 Biological resource use	5.3 Logging & wood harvesting	Medium (30-70% of population affected)	Deforestation especially prevent in the North [10], territorial conflict during the Liberian war resulted in forest degradation in the South (WCF 2012).	Ongoing (2012)
9 Pollution	9.3 Agricultural & forestry effluents	Present (unknown severity)	Use of herbicides and pesticides in the wetlands under agriculture in the buffer zone (Estela, N. pers. Comm. 2022).	Ongoing (2022)
8 Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseases		Unknown
11 Climate change & severe weather		Unknown

IUCN Threats list

Conservation activities

The Centre Forestier de N'Zérékore, attached to the Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development, is the management authority of Ziama MAB. Partners like UNOPS and Fauna & Flora International have been supporting CFZ to develop baseline for the protected area, the management plan and the implementation of management activities since 2016 (Estela, N. pers. Comm. 2022). In the 1990’s the forest was divided into three land-use zones, the outer two allowing for different degrees of human activities, while the core of the forest was designated an ‘integrally protected area’ (METT 2009). From 1994 until 2008 the work of the park authorities was financially supported by the World Bank and the KfW as part of the PROGERFOR project (METT 20019). Since 2009 Fauna & Flora International (FFI) supports the work of park authorities as part of the FFI transboundary project with Wonegizi proposed protected area in Liberia. Specifically FFI supports law enforcement and biomonitoring, and works with farmers to encourage a transition from bas-fonds agriculture in wetlands to using land close to the villages and outside of the forest. FFI also started developing a management plan (FFI 2018). The African Forest Elephant Foundation (AFEF) is fundraising for better equipment for rangers from forest authorities that are protecting forest elephants (AFEF 2017).

Table 4. Conservation activities reported for Ziama Biosphere Reserve

Category	Specific activity	Description	Implementing organization(s)	Year of activity
1 Development impact mitigation	1.4 Farm more intensively and effectively in selected areas and spare more natural land	FFI works with local farmers to encourage them to use land around villages and outside of the forest for farming instead wetlands (FFI 2018)		Ongoing (2018)
2 Counter-wildlife crime	2.3 Conduct regular anti-poaching patrols	The Centre Forestière de N’Zérékoré conducts anti-poaching patrols and is supported by FFI (FFI 2018)		Ongoing (2018)
2 Counter-wildlife crime	2.6 Regularly de-activate/remove ground snares	Biomonitoring and anti-poaching patrols by rangers of the Centre Forestier de N'Zérékoré's, the management authority (Estela, N. pers. Comm. 2022).		Ongoing (2022)
2 Counter-wildlife crime	2.7 Provide better equipment (e.g., guns) to anti-poaching ranger patrols	AFEF is fundraising to provide rangers with boots (AFEF 2017)		Ongoing (2017)
2 Counter-wildlife crime	2.8 Provide training to anti-poaching ranger patrols	Training on SMART, GPS use, prosecution processes, social safeguards (Estela, N. pers. Comm. 2022).		Ongoing (2022)
2 Counter-wildlife crime	2.11 Implement monitoring surveillance strategies (e.g., SMART) or use monitoring data to improve effectiveness of patrols	CFZ in Ziama has a SMART database and produces monthly reports to improve the effectiveness of the law enforcement since 2019 (Estela, N. pers. Comm. 2022).		Ongoing (2022)
2 Counter-wildlife crime	2.12 Implement community control of patrolling, banning hunting and removing snares	Community auxiliaries take part of the reconnaissance patrols with CFZ rangers and report back to the community about the findings (Estela, N. pers. Comm. 2022).		Ongoing (2022)
2 Counter-wildlife crime	2.13 Provide sustainable alternative livelihoods; establish fish- or domestic meat farms	Developing an environmental feasibility study on fish farming (Estela, N. pers. Comm. 2022).		Ongoing (2022)
4 Education & awareness	4.3 Install billboards to raise ape conservation awareness	Billboards of protected species in the main villages of Ziama (Estela, N. pers. Comm. 2022).		Ongoing (2022)
5 Protection & restoration	5.8 Restrict number of people that are allowed access to site	Core zones are restricted, only CFZ rangers or researchers can access. The buffer zone allows some activities that will be regulated by co-management as stated in the Management Plan (Estela, N. pers. Comm. 2022).		Ongoing (2022)
5 Protection & restoration	5.1 Create buffer zones around protected ape habitat	Forest was divided into three land-use zones, with the core of the forest being designated as an ‘integrally protected area’ (METT 2009)		Unknown (2009)
5 Protection & restoration	5.2 Legally protect ape habitat	Designated as Classified Forest (UNEP-WCMC and IUCN 2018)		Unknown (2018)
5 Protection & restoration	5.5 Demarcate and enforce boundaries of protected areas	CFZ rangers and communities are currently defining the limits of the PA, given they were not clear on the ground, and it created conflicts between rangers and people from communities (Estela, N. pers. Comm. 2022).		Ongoing (2022)
5 Protection & restoration	5.6 Habitat restoration	Replanting activities by park authorities (METT 2009)		Until 2008
8 Permanent presence	8.3 Permanent presence of staff/manager	About 50 CFZ rangers based in Ziama and 10 FFI staff focused on supporting the effective management of the PA (Estela, N. pers. Comm. 2022).		Ongoing (2022)

Conservation activities list (Junker et al. 2017)

Challenges

Table 5. Challenges reported for Ziama Biosphere Reserve

Challenges	Specific challenges	Source	Year(s)
2 Resources and capacity	2.1 Lack of capacity/training	METT 2009
2 Resources and capacity	2.3 General lack of funding	METT 2009
2 Resources and capacity	2.5 Lack of equipment/transportation	METT 2009
4 Institutional support	4.2 Lack of government support
1 Site management	1.3 Corruption

Enablers

Table 6. Enablers reported for Ziama Biosphere 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

Research activities

From 1996 to 1997 Rebecca Kormos (née Ham) did a nationwide survey on chimpanzees across Guinea (Ham 1998), and identified Ziama Biosphere Reserve as a priority site. To inform the extension of the protected area network Brugière and Kormos (2009) identified 16 Key Biodiversity Areas across Guinea based on the occurrence of globally threatened large and medium-sized mammals, among which Ziama Classified Forest ranked first. The Wild Chimpanzee Foundation did a nationwide inventory of chimpanzee populations in Guinea between 2009 and 2011. The WCF monitoring team covered a total of 10 sites, including Ziama Biosphere Reserve, using transect surveys (WCF 2012). In 2016 FFI conducted a biomonitoring and threat monitoring study in Ziama (FFI 2018).

Documented behaviours

Table 7. Behaviours documented for Ziama Biosphere Reserve

Behavior	Source
Not reported

References

AFEF. 2017. African Forest Elephant Foundation. Phase Two – Ziama (Guinea). Online: [forestelephants.org/phase-two-ziama/ forestelephants.org]

Bakarr M et al. 2001. in IUCN 2008. From forest to the sea: biodiversity connections from Guinea to Togo. Conservation priority setting workshop. Washington D.C., USA: Conservation International

BirdLife International. 2018. Important Bird Areas factsheet: Massif du Ziama. Online: www.birdlife.org

Brugière D, Kormos R. 2009. Review of the protected area network in Guinea, West Africa, and recommendations for new sites for biodiversity conservation, Biodiversity and Conservation, 18:847

FFI. 2018. Fauna & Flora International . Supporting effective management of Ziama Man and Biosphere Reserve. Online: [www.fauna-flora.org/projects/supporting-effective-management-ziama-man-biosphere-reserve www.fauna-flora.org]

Ham R. 1998. Nationwide chimpanzee census and large mammal survey Republic of Guinea

METT. 2009. Management Effectiveness Evaluations – Forêt Classée de Ziama. Online: papaco.org

Sugiyama Y, Soumah AG. 1988. Preliminary Survey of the Distribution and Population of Chimpanzees in the Republic of Guinea. Primates, 29(4):569-574

UNEP-WCMC, IUCN. 2018. Protected Planet: The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA), Cambridge, UK: UNEP-WCMC and IUCN Online: www.protectedplanet.net

UNESCO MAB. 2007. UNESCO MAB Biosphere Reserve Directory. Massif du Ziama. Online: [www.unesco.org/mabdb/br/brdir/directory/biores.asp?mode=all&code=GUI+02 www.unesco.org]

WCF. 2012. Etat de la faune et des menaces dans les aires protégées terrestres et principales zones de forte biodiversité de Rep. de Guinée. Report. Wild Chimpanzee Foundation, Sangaredi, Republic of Guinea. Online: www.wildchimps.org

Page created by: Neus Estela & A.P.E.S. Wiki Team Date: NA