Central Africa > Equatorial Guinea > Equatorial Guinea Nationwide

Summary

Central chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) & western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) are present in Equatorial Guinea.
It has been estimated that 6,162 (CI: 3,976-11,150) individuals occur in the site.
The great ape population trend is decreasing.
The site has a total size of 28,050 km².
Key threats to great apes are bushmeat hunting, logging, infrastructure development leading to habitat loss and increased access to forests.
Conservation activities have focused on protection of priority areas.

Site characteristics

The Republic of Equatorial Guinea is located in west central Africa. The country comprises Bioko Island, Annobón Island, and the larger mainland region of Rio Muni, which lies between Cameroon and Gabon and includes the nearby islands of Corisco, Elobey Grande, Elobey Chico, and adjacent islets. Rio Muni covers an area of 26,017 sq. km. The vegetation consists mainly of Guineo-Congolian rainforest, with mangrove forests in the southwest estuary, riparian palm forests along the coast and inselbergs in the east (Murai et al. 2013). The highest altitude reaches 1,113 m in the Niefang Mountain range. Average annual temperature is around 27°C and annual mean rainfall is 2,500 mm (Murai et al. 2013).

Table 1. Basic site information for Equatorial Guinea

Area	28,050 km²
Coordinates	1.556135 N, 10.460401E
Designation
Habitat types	Urban Areas , Subtropical/Tropical Heavily Degraded Former Forest, Arable Land, Arable Land, Coastal Brackish/Saline Lagoons/Marine Lakes, Subtropical/tropical moist lowland forest, Subtropical/tropical moist montane forest, Subtropical/tropical mangrove vegetation above high tide level forest, Wetlands (inland) – Permanent rivers/streams/creeks (includes waterfalls), Sea Cliffs and Rocky Offshore Islands

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Ape status

The first gorilla survey, conducted in 1966, provided a nationwide density estimate of 0.58 to 0.86 gorilla per sq. km (Murai et al. 2013). Later on, in 1989, surve work led to an estimate of 0.22 to 0.45 nesting gorilla per sq. km, with the highest densities identified to be in Río Campo and the district of Nsork in the southeast of the country (Murai et al. 2013). The nationwide population size estimate of apes in 2011 stands at 11,097, with a maximum population of 7,824 chimpanzees and a minimum population of 3,273 gorillas (Murai et al. 2013). Great apes were most abundant within Monte Alén National Park and the region extending south towards Gabon, which is part of the Monte Alén-Monts de Cristal transboundary landscape (Murai et al. 2013). The Río Campo Nature Reserve is also an important area, as well as the region to the east of the reserve (Murai et al. 2013).

Table 2. Ape population estimates in Equatorial Guinea

Species	Year	Abundance estimate (95% CI)	Area	Method	Source	Comments
Gorilla gorilla gorilla	2005	2,325 (1,510–3,476)	Equatorial Guinea nationwide	Model estimate	Strindberg et al. 2018
Gorilla gorilla gorilla	2013	1,872 (1,082–3,165)	Equatorial Guinea nationwide	Model estimate	Strindberg et al. 2018
Pan troglodytes troglodytes	2005-2013	4,290 (2,894–7,985)	Equatorial Guinea nationwide	Model estimate	Strindberg et al. 2018
Pan troglodytes troglodytes	2011	7,824 (3,703–14,441)	Equatorial Guinea nationwide	Model estimate	Murai et al. 2013	survey effort of 233.94 km across 83 transects
Pan troglodytes troglodytes & Gorilla gorilla gorilla	2011	11,097 (5,090–20,688)	Equatorial Guinea nationwide	Model estimate	Murai et al. 2013	survey effort of 233.94 km across 83 transects

Threats

Fuelled by the country's oil boom, Equatorial Guinea's economy has rapidly developed. Forest concessions have grown significantly since the discovery of oil reserves in the early 1990s; in fact, between 1993 and 1997 concessions more than doubled to 1.5 million hectares (Murai et al 2013). The area further increased to 1.7 million hectares by 2001. This economic development has also led to greater urbanisation and increased infrastructure development and road construction throughout Río Muni (Murai et al. 2013).

A 2011 nationwide survey revealed that proximity to cities and settlements were important determining factors for chimpanzee abundance in Equatorial Guinea (Murai et al. 2013). Increasing distance to cities and settlements led to increases in chimpanzee abundance. The presence of roads was also identified as a determining factor of gorilla and chimpanzee abundance (Murai et al. 2013). Human population density is high almost throughout the country; not even the most remote areas are further than ~15 km from a road. The effects of high human population density and proximity to roads are aggravated by the lack of patrols in the country's PAs (Strindberg et al. 2018). Roads have made access to the forest easier for hunters. Hunting has also been exacerbated by the ease in the firearm ban in 1979, making both guns and cartridges more affordable and accessible (Murai et al. 2013). Extensive commercial bushmeat hunting in the country and the presence of large urban bushmeat markets in Río Muni are well known (Murai et al. 2013).

Conservation activities

Two priority landscapes for great ape conservation have been identified, which cover parts of Rio Muni. First, the Monte Alén-Monts de Cristal-Abanga landscape, which incorporates the Monts de Cristal mountain chain running from northwest Equatorial Guinea to southeast Gabon. The Equatorial Guinea sector covers 5,570 sq. km (IUCN 2014). The second is the Río-Campo-Ma’an landscape, which comprises the Río Campo Natural Reserve (347 km²) in Equatorial Guinea and Campo Ma’an NP (CMNP, 2,640 km²) in Cameroon. The landscape falls in the Atlantic coastal forest zone, known for high floral diversity and several endemic plant species (IUCN 2014).

Challenges

Historically, the network of PAs has existed in Equatorial Guinea by law since 1988 (Ley 8/1988). Today, PAs in Río Muni cover 15.4% of the country’s land. However, since 2004 there are limited law enforcement activities undertaken to manage and protect these areas, when ECOFAC (Conservation et Utilisation Rationelle des Ecosystèmes Forestieres en Afrique Centrale) suspended its activities in Monte Alén National Park (Murai et al. 2013). This park is the only PA that has received any effective protection since the creation of the PA network in Rio Muni (Murai et al 2013). This lack of law enforcement is threatening wildlife populations (Murai et al. 2013).

Table 5. Challenges reported for Equatorial Guinea

Challenge	Source
Lack of law enforcement	Murai et al. 2013

Research activities

Documented behaviours

Table 6. Ape behaviors reported for Equatorial Guinea

Behavior	Source
Not reported

External links

Relevant datasets

A.P.E.S Portal

References

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.
Murai, M., Ruffler, H., Berlemont, A., Campbell, G., Esono, F., Agbor, A., ... & Kühl, H. S. (2013). Priority areas for large mammal conservation in Equatorial Guinea. PloS one, 8(9), e75024.
Strindberg, S., Maisels, F., Williamson, E. A., Blake, S., Stokes, E. J., Aba’a, R., ... & Wilkie, D. S. (2018). Guns, germs, and trees determine density and distribution of gorillas and chimpanzees in Western Equatorial Africa. Science advances, 4(4), eaar2964.

Page completed by: A.P.E.S. Wiki team Date:29/11/2021

Equatorial Guinea Nationwide

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