Conkouati-Douli National Park

Central Africa > Republic of the Congo > Conkouati-Douli National Park

Summary

• Central chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) and western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) are present in Conkouati-Douli National Park.
• It is estimated that 7,000 chimpanzees and 900 gorillas occur at the site.
• The population trends are unknown.
• The site has a total size of 5,049 km².
• Key threats to great apes are bushmeat hunting and mining.
• Conservation activities at the site include a reintroduction program for rescued chimpanzees.
• The site is designated as a Ramsar Site.

Site characteristics

Conkouati-Douli National Park (CDNP) was established in 1999, replacing the Conkouati Wildlife Reserve existing since 1980. CDNP is situated in the southwest corner of the Republic of Congo, bordering Gabon's Mayumba National Park to the north. Together, Mayumba National Park and CDNP form the Conkouati-Mayumba landscape, characterised by coastal lowland forest that extends into higher altitude forest in the mountains to the east, and descends to the inland savanna plain (Tutin et al. 2005). As a result of CDNP's broad habitat diversity, the park is the most biodiverse in Congo. In addition to chimpanzees and gorillas, CDNP is home to many threatened species, including forest elephants, mandrills, and forest buffalo. Marine species, such as manatees, turtles, dolphins and whales, are also found at the site. The coastline of the park, which comprises 35% of the country's coastline, is an important site for sea turtle nesting, particularly for Leatherback and Olive Ridley turtles (WCS; BirdLife International 2020). The site is also an Important Bird Area, with at least 288 species present (BirdLife International 2020). CDNP is also designated as a Ramsar Site and is registered on the indicative list of UNESCO World Heritage (Parcs de Noé).

Table 1. Basic site information for Conkouati-Douli National Park

Area	5,049 km²
Coordinates	-3.797862 S, 11.487369 E
Designation	National Park
Habitat types	Subtropical/tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical/tropical swamp forest, savanna, coastal brackish/saline lagoons/marine lakes

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Ape status

An estimated 7,000 chimpanzees and 900 gorillas occur in the park (Parcs de Noé).

Table 2. Ape population estimates in Conkouati-Douli 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 troglodytes & Gorilla gorilla gorilla

Threats

Lack of hunting controls and law enforcement combined with high demand for bushmeat in urban markets threaten the ape population at CDNP (IUCN 2014).

Table 3. Threats to apes in Conkouati-Douli 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	Absent		Mining is now suspended in the park (BirdLife International 2020).
4. Transportation & service corridors		Unknown
5. Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	High		Hunting driven by considerable demand for bushmeat from urban markets in Congo (IUCN 2014).	Ongoing (2014)
	5.3 Logging & wood harvesting	Present, but threat severity is unknown		Logging concessions present at the site, before and after it was declared a National Park (BirdLife International 2020; IUCN 2014).	Ongoing (2020)
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 Conkouati-Douli 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	11.2. Legally protect primate habitat	The site was declared a National Park in 1999; before that, it was a Wildlife Reserve, since 1980.	Ongoing
12. Species Management	12.16. Reintroduce primates as single/multiple individuals	The NGO HELP Congo has a reintroduction program, and has released several rescued chimpanzees into the Triangle site (a forested area bordered by the Conkouati lagoon within the park).	Ongoing
13. Livelihood; Economic & Other Incentives	Not reported

Conservation activities list (Junker et al. 2017)

Challenges

Table 5. Challenges reported for Conkouati-Douli National Park

Challenge	Source
Lack of law enforcement	IUCN 2014
Lack of transboundary cooperation	IUCN 2014

Research activities

A Longitudinal Study on Feeding Behaviour and Activity Patterns of Released Chimpanzees in Conkouati-Douli National Park, Republic of Congo
Forest Feeding Phenology of Pan troglodytes (chimpanzee) east of Conkouati-Douli National Park, Republic of Congo
Effect of construction of natural reserve on the livelihoods and income of local residents around Conkouati-Doulinational Park, Republic Of Congo
Confirmation of the Presence of the Red-Capped Mangabey (Cercocebus torquatus) in Mayumba National Park, Southern Gabon, and Conkouati-Douli National Park, Southern Republic of Congo

Documented behaviours

Table 6. Ape behaviors reported for Conkouati-Douli National Park

Behavior	Source
Not reported

External links

WCS Conkouati-Douli National Park
Parcs de Noé
The National park of Conkouati-Douli

Relevant datasets

A.P.E.S Portal

References

BirdLife International (2020) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Conkouati National Park. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 10/12/2020.
Tutin, C., et. al. 2005. Regional Action Plan for the Conservation of Chimpanzees and Gorillas in Western Equatorial Africa. IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group Conservation International. Washington, DC.
IUCN (2014). Regional Action Plan for the Conservation of Western Lowland Gorillas and Central Chimpanzees 2015–2025. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group. 56 pp.

Page completed by: A.P.E.S. Wiki team Date: 29/12/2020