Northern block (Maringa-Lopori-Wamba)

Central Africa > Democratic Republic of the Congo > Northern block (Maringa-Lopori-Wamba)

Summary

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• Bonobos (Pan paniscus) are present in the Northern block (Maringa-Lopori-Wamba).
• 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 74,000 km².
• Key threats to bonobos are poaching, habitat destruction and degradation, risk of disease transmission.
• Conservation activities have focused on land-use planning.

Site characteristics

The site consists of a block of forest corresponding approximately to the Maringa-Lopori-Wamba landscape delineated by the Congo Basin Forest Partnership and the Commission des Forêts d’Afrique Centrale (IUCN & ICCN 2012). The landscape is situated in the Maringa and Lopori river basins in the Equateur Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Approximately 67% of the site is covered by forest, with swamps covering an additional 26%. The remaining area is a young secondary forest and rural complex (IUCN & ICCN 2012). The block contains four areas offering various levels of protection: Lomako-Yokokala Faunal Reserve, Luo Scientific Reserve, Kokolopori Bonobo Reserve, and Iyondji Community Bonobo Reserve (IUCN & ICCN 2012).

Table 1. Basic site information for Northern block (Maringa-Lopori-Wamba)

Area	74,000 km²
Coordinates	0.661443, 21.892545
Designation	Unclassified
Habitat types	Subtropical/tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical/tropical swamp forest

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 Maringa-Lopori-Wamba block, making it an important stronghold for bonobos (IUCN & ICCN 2012).

Table 2. Ape population estimates in Northern block (Maringa-Lopori-Wamba)

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	5000			Northern block (Maringa-Lopori-Wamba)	Model estimate	IUCN & ICCN 2012	minimum estimate

Threats

The main threats to bonobos in the forest block are poaching, habitat loss, and the risk of disease transmission. The area is far from urban centres and experiences high levels of poverty and reliance on natural resources obtained through slash-and-burn agriculture, fishing, and hunting (IUCN & ICCN 2012).

Table 3. Threats to apes in Northern block (Maringa-Lopori-Wamba)

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	High		Slash-and-burn agriculture, leading to habitat destruction and fragmentation (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		Poaching is the most serious threat to bonobos across their range (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

Since 2006, a major participative land-use planning exercise has been conducted, covering about 70% of the landscape (IUCN & ICCN 2012). This work has designated a mosaic of protected areas, community-based natural resource management areas, sylvo-agro-pastoral zones and logging concessions, with the objective of maintaining forest cover and forest connectivity (IUCN & ICCN 2012).

Table 4. Conservation activities in Northern block (Maringa-Lopori-Wamba)

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	Other	Land-use planning to maintain forest connectivity (IUCN & ICCN 2012).	Ongoing (2012)
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 Northern block (Maringa-Lopori-Wamba)

Challenge	Source
Lack of law enforcement	IUCN & ICCN 2012

Research activities

Documented behaviours

Table 6. Ape behaviors reported for Northern block (Maringa-Lopori-Wamba)

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