Gola Forest National Park

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Summary

• Western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) are present in Gola Forest National Park.
• The total abundance was 94 (95% CI: 225-539) in 2012.
• The chimpanzee population trend is unknown.
• This site has a total size of 880 km².
• Major threats to chimpanzees are hunting and habitat disturbance due to illegal farming, logging and mining activities.
• BirdLife International, the Society for the Conservation of Nature in Liberia, and the Forestry Development Authority of Liberia worked together on the establishment of Gola Forest National Park. These three are also the main organizations implementing conservation activities in the park.
• Gola Forest National Park is adjacent to the Gola Rainforest National Park in Sierra Leone, forming a transboundary peace park.

Site characteristics

Situated in northwest Liberia, the site was first classified as a National Forest in 1960 (Hoke et al. 2007), and designated as National Park in 2016 (Rainforest Trust 2018). The park is located in the Upper Guinea Forest of West Africa, a biodiversity hotspot with very high rates of endemism (Hoke et al. 2007). In addition to chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus), other endangered mammal species inhabit the site, including Jentink’s duiker (Cephalophus jentinki), forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), pygmy hippopotamus (Hexaprotodon liberiensis), leopard (Panthera pardus), bongo (Tragelaphus euryceros) (Barrie et al. 2007). The site has also been declared an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International (BirdLife International 2019). Gola Forest National Park is strategically connected to Sierra Leone’s Gola Rainforest National Park to establish a bi-national peace park (Rainforest Trust 2018).

Table 1: Basic site information for Gola Forest National Park

Area:	880 km²
Designation:	National Park
Habitat types:	Subtropical/tropical moist lowland

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Ape status

The most recent estimate of chimpanzee abundance in Gola National Forest was 94 in the year 2012 (Tweh et al. 2014). Due to a lack of survey data, the population trend in unknown.

Table 2: Great ape population estimates in Gola Forest National Park

Species	Year	Abundance estimate (95% Confidence Interval)	Density estimate (per km2)	Encounter rate	Area	Method	Source	Comments	A.P.E.S. database ID
Western chimpanzee	2005			absent	Gola National Forest	transect survey	Barrie et al. 2007	hunters reported that chimpanzees were still present in parts of the forest
Western chimpanzee	2012	94 (CI: 225-539)	0.110 individuals/km2		Gola National Forest	transect survey	Tweh et al. 2014	survey effort: 118.3 km

Threats

Several years of civil conflict in Liberia (1989-2003) led to the encroachment of Gola National Forest by displaced people and increased illegal mining and farming activities, as well as bushmeat hunting (Hoke et al. 2007). Illegal mining and logging activities were particularly aggravated by the civil wars (Hoke et al. 2007). Other major threats include bushmeat hunting and illegal farming activities (Hoke et al. 2007). Furthermore, since the end of the second civil war, the interest from international logging and mining companies to extract timber and mineral resources in the country was renewed (Tweh et al. 2014). In 2005, two mining companies were large-scale prospecting at Gola National Forest (Barrie et al. 2007).

Table 3: Threats to great apes in Gola Forest National Park

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Description	Year of threat
1. Residential & commercial development	1.1 Housing & Urban Areas	present	illegal settlement of displaced people due to civil conflict [1]	1989-2003
2. Agriculture & aquaculture	2.1 Annual & perennial non-timber crops	present	illegal farming activities [1]
3. Energy production & mining	3.2 Mining & quarrying	high	illegal artisanal mining, especially during the Liberian civil wars [3, 5]	ongoing
4. Transportation & service corridors	4.1 Roads & railroads	present	trails created by heavy machinery and poachers [3]	2005
5. Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals	high	bushmeat hunting [3, 5]	ongoing
5. Biological resource use	5.3 Logging & wood harvesting	high	logging and pit-sawing [1]
6. Human intrusion & disturbance	6.2 War, civil unrest & military exercises	high	two civil wars resulted in the encroachment of the park by displaced people; illegal mining and logging activities were also aggravated during this time [1]	1989-2003
7. Natural system modifications		absent
8. Invasive & other problematic species, genes, diseases		present	Ebola virus disease was present in the counties of Grand Cape Mount and Gbarpolu, where the park is located [6]	2014-2016
9. Pollution		unknown
10. Geological Events		absent
11. Climate change & severe weather		unknown
12. Other options		unknown

Threats list

Conservation activities

The site is part of BirdLife International´s Forests of Hope program, which aims to restore natural forests and support their long-term management. BirdLife International is also carrying out monitoring projects in the site. As part of the GolaMa Project, the Society for Conservation of Nature in Liberia (SCNL) works to manage and protect the surrounding parts of the Gola forest that are not protected.

Table 3: Conservation activities in Gola Forest National Park

Category	Specific activity	Description	Year of activity
1. Residential & commercial development	absent
2. Agriculture & aquaculture	absent
3. Energy production & mining	absent
4. Transportation & service corridors	absent
5. Biological resource use	5.6. Conduct regular anti-poaching patrols	forest guards of the Forestry Development Authority conduct poaching patrols [7]
	5.15. Implement monitoring surveillance strategies (e.g. SMART) or use monitoring data to improve effectiveness of wildlife law enforcement patrols	monitoring work done by BirdLife International
6. Human intrusion & disturbance	absent
7. Natural system modifications	absent
8. Invasive & other problematic species, genes, diseases	absent
9. Pollution	absent
10. Education & Awareness	absent
11. Habitat Protection	11.2. Legally protect primate habitat	the area was designated as National Park in 2016 [2]	ongoing
12. Species Management	absent
13. Livelihood; Economic & Other Incentives	absent

Conservation activities list

Impediments

A lack of law enforcement has been cited as major problem, particularly with regards to the enforcement of laws that ban hunting within the protected area (Barrie et al. 2007, Jones et al. 2018).

Impediments list

Research activities

Jones et al. (2018) evaluated the effectiveness of conservation interventions (e.g., participation in livelihood-support programs) in villages adjacent to Gola Forest National Park. The responsiveness of two different target groups (hunting households and high-impact hunters) to the same conservation interventions differed. This implies that audience segmentation could improve the effectiveness of conservation interventions, by targeting specific groups (Jones et al. 2018).

Relevant datasets

A.P.E.S Portal

References

[1] Hoke, P., R. Demey and A. Peal (eds.) (2007) A rapid biological assessment of North Lorma, Gola and Grebo National Forests, Liberia. RAP Bulletin of Biological Assessment 44. Conservation International, Arlington, VA, USA.
[2] Ranforest Trust (2018) Liberia Marks Official Launch of Gola Forest National Park With Community Ceremony. Online: https://www.rainforesttrust.org/liberia-marks-official-launch-of-gola-forest-national-park-with-community-ceremony/
[3] Barrie, A., Zwuen, S., Kota, A.N., Lou, M. Sr, Luke, R. (2007) Rapid survey of large mammals of North Lorma, Gola and Grebo National Forests. In A Rapid Biological Assessment of North Lorma, Gola and Grebo National Forests, Liberia (eds P. Hoke, R. Demey & A. Peal), pp. 59–64. Conservation International, Washington, DC, USA.
[4] BirdLife International (2019) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Lofa-Gola-Mano Complex. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 23/03/2019.
[5] Tweh, C., Kouakou, C.Y., Chira, R., Freeman, B., Githaiga, J.M., Kerwillain, S., Molokwu-Odozi, M., Varney M. and Junker, J.(2018) Nest counts reveal a stable chimpanzee population in Sapo National Park, Liberia. Primate Conservation 2018 (32): 12 pp.
[6] CDC (2017) 2014-2016 Ebola Outbreak Distribution in West Africa. Online: https://www.cdc.gov
[7] BirdLife International (2014) Are we finally almost there? The Gola Forest National Park gazettement in Liberia: an update. Online: https://www.birdlife.org/africa/news/are-we-finally-almost-there-gola-forest-national-park-gazettement-liberia-update
[8] Jones S., Keane A., St John F., Vickery J., Papworth S. (2019) Audience segmentation to improve targeting of conservation interventions for hunters: Audience Segmentation. Conservation Biology. DOI: 10.1111/cobi.13275.

Page completed by: A.P.E.S. Wiki Team Date: 25/03/19