West Africa > Sierra Leone > Kangari Hills Non-Hunting Forest Reserve

Summary

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Western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) are present in Kangari Hills Non-Hunting Forest Reserve.
The population size is unknown.
The chimpanzee population trend is unknown.
This site has a total size of 212.1 km².
Key threats to chimpanzees are hunting, mining, and agricultural encroachment.
Information on conservation activities is lacking.

Site characteristics

The reserve is located in central Sierra Leone and is a watershed for some of the country’s main rivers (Brncic et al. 2010). In 1955 it was gazetted as a forest reserve, and in 1973 it was upgraded to non-hunting forest reserve (Brncic et al. 2010). The site is also an Important Bird Area (IBA) with at least 115 bird species, of which six are globally threatened species, e.g., white-necked rockfowl, Picathartes gymnocephalus (BirdLife International 2019). In addition to the western chimpanzee, other primates inhabiting the site include western red colobus (Piliocolobus badius), Diana monkey (Cercopithecus diana), king colobus (Colobus polykomos), and sootey mangabey (Cercocebus atys). Elephants (Loxodonta africana) are also present in the area; the population is likely to be small (Brncic et al. 2010).

Table 1. Basic site information for Kangari Hills Non-Hunting Forest Reserve

Area	212.1 km²
Coordinates	8.49, -11.65
Designation	Non-hunting Forest Reserve
Habitat types	Subtropical/tropical moist lowland forest, arable land

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Ape status

In 2008, the CEMMATS Group Ltd conducted an environmental and social assessment at the site for the mining of concessions areas for Cluff Gold (Brncic et al. 2010). Chimpanzee presence was confirmed, but further information is not available. As part of a nationwide survey, Kangari Hills was surveyed in 2010, and only signs of chimpanzees were encountered (Brncic et al. 2010).

Table 2. Great ape population estimates in Kangari Hills Non-Hunting Forest Reserve

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	2010			Present	Kangari Hills Non-hunting Forest Reserve	Line transects (Distance) and index survey	Survey effort: 15.84 km	Nests and feeding remains encountered during reconnaissance walk

Threats

Illegal artisanal gold mining activities are present throughout the reserve, and southwest to it, industrial-scale mining by the British company Cluff Gold commenced in 2013 (CILSS 2016; Brncic et al. 2010). Cluff Gold claims to have found 3 million ounces of gold in the area, which puts a lot of pressure on the reserve, as the demand for revenue is immense (CILSS 2016). Signs of hunting are also widespread in the reserve (Brncic et al. 2010), as well as agricultural encroachment coming from the north, and logging for charcoal production are also threats in the area (CILSS 2016).

Table 3. Threats to great apes in Kangari Hills Non-Hunting Forest Reserve

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Description	Year of threat
1. Residential & commercial development	1.1 Housing & urban areas	Present	Villages in the northern part of the reserve (Brncic et al. 2010)	Ongoing (2010)
2. Agriculture & aquaculture	2.1 Annual & perennial non-timber crops	Present	Agricultural encroachment to the north of the reserve (CILSS 2016)	Ongoing (2016)
3. Energy production & mining	3.2 Mining & quarrying	High	Artisanal gold mining within the reserve and industrial-scale mining bordering the reserve (Brncic et al. 2010, CILSS 2016)	Ongoing (2016)
4. Transportation & service corridors	4.1 Roads & railroads	Present	Logging roads entering the southern part of the reserve (CILSS 2016)	Ongoing (2016)
5. Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	High	Hunting signs found throughout the reserve during a chimpanzee survey (Brncic et al. 2010)	Ongoing (2010)
	5.3 Logging & wood harvesting	Low	Trees cut and timber piles have been found in the reserve (Brncic et al. 2010). Wood is also harvested for charcoal production (CILSS 2016)	Ongoing (2010, 2016)
6. Human intrusions & disturbance	6.2 War, civil unrest & military exercises	Present	Damage done by temporary settlement of rebels during civil war (Brncic et al. 2010)	1991-2002
7. Natural system modifications		Absent
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

A project funded by the the Global Environmental Facility and implemented between 2010 and 2014 by the World Bank and Österreichische Bundesforste Consulting (ÖBf) in collaboration with the Forestry Division of the Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Food Security (MAFFS) aimed to improve management of the site (The REDD Desk 2019). The CEMMAT Group also provided a number of measures for the site, including, demarcation of the boundaries, enforcing legislation against illegal mining, reforestation, and training staff (Brncic et al. 2010). However, detailed information on conservation activities at the site is not available. Given that the forest is relatively intact in the core of the reserve, it could be a potentially important place for chimpanzees and other wildlife in Sierra Leone, especially elephants. However, if hunting is not controlled, it will continue to be an empty forest. Serious protection efforts and rehabilitation of the reserve are needed before it can return to being an important site for biodiversity conservation in Sierra Leone.

Table 4. Conservation activities in Kangari Hills Non-Hunting Forest Reserve

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 intrusions & 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 is designated as a strict nature reserve since 1973 (Brncic et al. 2010)	Ongoing (2010)
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 Kangari Hills Non-Hunting Forest Reserve

Challenge	Source
Not reported

Research activities

No information on research activities has been documented.

Documented behaviours

Table 6. Great ape behaviors reported for Kangari Hills Non-Hunting Forest Reserve

Behavior	Source
Not reported

References

Brncic, T.M., Amarasekaran,B. & McKenna,A. (2010) Final Report of the Sierra Leone National Chimpanzee Census Project. Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary, Freetown, Sierra Leone.
BirdLife International (2019) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Kangari Hills Non-hunting Forest Reserve. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 25/09/2019.
The REDD Desk (2019) Sierra Leone Biodiversity Conservation Project. Online: https://theredddesk.org/countries/initiatives/sierra-leone-biodiversity-conservation-project
CILSS (2016) Landscapes of West Africa: A Window On a Changing World. U. S. Geological Survey EROS 47914, 252nd St, Garretson, SD 57030, United States.

Page completed by: A.P.E.S. Wiki Team Date: 22/10/2019

Kangari Hills Non-Hunting Forest Reserve

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