Bia National Park

West Africa > Ghana > Bia National Park

Summary

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• Western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) may be present in Bia National Park.
• The population size is unknown.
• The chimpanzee population trend is unknown.
• This site has a total size of 78 km².
• Key threats to chimpanzees are poaching and logging.
• Conservation activities at the site focus on law enforcement.
• The site is a UNESCO Biospshere Reserve.

Site characteristics

The site is located in southwestern Ghana, nearing the border with Côte d’Ivoire. The Bia Resource Reserve (228 km²) lies to the south of the national park (Dowsett-Lemaire & Dowsett 2011). Together, the national park and the resource reserve form a contiguous forest block that was originally established as a national park in 1974 (Dowsett-Lemaire & Dowsett 2011). However, the area now comprising the resource reserve was de-gazetted in 1977 and selectively logged for several years (Dowsett-Lemaire & Dowsett 2011). In 1983, Bia National Park was designated as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve (UNEP-WCMC and IUCN 2019). Sixty-two mammal species have been recorded in the site, including 10 primate species (e.g., red colobus Procolobus badius, black and white colobus Colobus vellerosus, and olive colobus, Procolobus verus) (Forestry Comission of Ghana 2019, Danquah et al. 2012). Forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis) and bongos (Tragelaphus euryceros) are also present (Forestry Comission of Ghana 2019).

Table 1. Basic site information for Bia National Park

Area	78 km²
Coordinates	6.48, -3.08
Designation	National Park
Habitat types	Subtropical/tropical moist lowland

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Ape status

The presence of chimpanzees in Ghana is restricted to the forests in the southwestern part of the country (Kormos et al. 2003). Chimpanzees are thought to be present in Bia National Park, but the most recent survey only found traces of chimpanzees in the Bia Resource Reserve (Danquah et al. 2012). As part of the PanAf data collection, a survey was conducted at the site, but chimpanzee abundance and density are not published (PanAf 2019).

Table 2. Great ape population estimates in Bia 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 verus	2006-2008			0.0028	Bia National Park and Bia Resource Reserve	Line transects (Distance) and index survey	Gatti 2010	Reconnaissance walks were also conducted, and the total survey effort was 1411.26 km
Pan troglodytes verus	2009			Present	Bia National Park and Bia Resource Reserve	Line transects (Distance)	Danquah et al. 2012	Presence confirmed in the sourthern part of the resource reserve
Pan troglodytes verus	2012-2013			Present	Bia National Park	Line transects (Distance)	PanAf 2019	Abundance estimate was not published

Threats

Illegal logging until the late 90s caused severe degradation at the site, and the construction of logging trails and roads facilitated human access into the area (Dowsett-Lemaire & Dowsett 2011). Uncontrolled hunting has been a big problem at Bia National Park and surrounding areas; the park faces a lot of human pressure, as it is completely surrounded by farmland (Dowsett-Lemaire & Dowsett 2011, Danquah et al. 2012).

Table 3. Threats to great apes in Bia National Park

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Quantified severity	Description	Year of threat
1. Residential & commercial development		Not reported
2. Agriculture & aquaculture	2.1 Annual & perennial non-timber crops	Present		The park is surrounded by farmland, and encroachment for agricultural expansion is a threat (Dowsett-Lemaire & Dowsett 2011)	Ongoing (2011)
3. Energy production & mining		Not reported
4. Transportation & service corridors	4.1 Roads & railroads	Present		Logging trails and roads (Dowsett-Lemaire & Dowsett 2011)	Ongoing (2011)
5. Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	High	Encounter rate of hunting signs: 0.40 km-1 (Danquah et al. 2012). A 2006-2008 survey reported 0.332 hunting signs per km (Gatti 2010)	Snares were found in the park during a survey, and hunting signs were also present in nearby sites (Danquah et al. 2012).	Ongoing (2012)
6. Human intrusions & disturbance		Not reported
7. Natural system modifications		Not reported
8. Invasive & other problematic species, genes, diseases		Unknown
9. Pollution		Absent
10. Geological Events		Absent
11. Climate change & severe weather		Unknown
12. Other options		Absent

IUCN Threats list

Conservation activities

Wildlife protection at the site is enforced by the Ghana Wildlife Division (Danquah & Oppong 2013). Compared other sites in the Goaso forest block, a study found poaching rates to be much lower in the Bia National Park and Resource Reserve between 2007 and 2009 (AfriMAB 2013). This is likely attributed to the higher protection status of the area, and the implementation of conservation-oriented projects, such as the Protected Areas Development Programme Phase II (PADP II) in 2009, funded by the European Union, under which law enforcement and monitoring were increased (AfriMAB 2013).

Table 4. Conservation activities in Bia National Park

Category	Specific activity	Description	Year of activity
1. Residential & commercial development
2. Agriculture & aquaculture
3. Energy production & mining
4. Transportation & service corridors
5. Biological resource use	5.6. Conduct regular anti-poaching patrols	As part of the Protected Areas Development Programme Phase II (PADP II), patrol staff were trained for increased law enforcement (AfriMAB 2013)	Ongoing (2013)
6. Human intrusions & disturbance
7. Natural system modifications
8. Invasive & other problematic species, genes, diseases
9. Pollution
10. Education & Awareness
11. Habitat Protection	11.2. Legally protect primate habitat	The site is designated as a national park since 1974 (Dowsett-Lemaire & Dowsett 2011)	Ongoing (2011)
12. Species Management
13. Livelihood; Economic & Other Incentives

Conservation activities list (Junker et al. 2017)

Challenges

Table 5. Challenges reported for Bia National Park

Challenge	Source
Not reported

Research activities

No information on research activities has been documented.

Documented behaviours

Table 6. Great ape behaviors reported for Bia National Park

Behavior	Source
Not reported

References

AfriMAB, Pool-Stanvliet, R., & Clüsener-Godt, M. (Eds.). (2013) Biosphere reserves in sub-saharan Africa: showcasing sustainable development. Pretoria: Department of Environmental Affairs.
Danquah, E., Oppong, S.K., Akom, E., and Sam, M. (2012) Preliminary Survey of Chimpanzees and Threatened Monkeys in the Bia-Goaso Forest Block in Southwestern Ghana. African Primates 7 (2): 163-174.
Danquah, E. & Oppong, S. (2013) Elephant population trends and associated factors: a review of the situation in western Ghana. Pachyderm 53(53):81-90.
Dowsett-Lemaire F. & Dowsett R.J. (2011) Ornithological surveys in Bia National Park and Resource Reserve, Ghana (January 2005, December 2009 and Septem- ber 2010). Dowsett-Lemaire Misc. Rep. 73: 27 pp. https://www.fcghana.org/page.php?page=268&section=32&typ=1&subs=274
Gatti, S. (2010) Community Forest Biodiversity Project: Status of primate populations in Protected Areas targeted under CFBP.W APCA and WD/FC, Accra. p. 42.
Kormos, R., Boesch, C., Bakarr, M.I. and Butynski, T. (eds.) (2003) West African Chimpanzees. Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.
PanAf (2019) Pan African Programme: The Cultured Chimpanzee. Online: panafrican.eva.mpg.de
UNEP-WCMC and IUCN (2019) Protected Planet: [Bia National Park; The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA)/The Global Database on Protected Areas Management Effectiveness (GD-PAME)] [On-line], [11/2019], Cambridge, UK: UNEP-WCMC and IUCN. Available at: www.protectedplanet.net.

Page completed by: A.P.E.S. Wiki Team Date: 25/11/2019