West Africa > Sierra Leone > Loma Mountains National Park

Summary

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Western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) are present in Loma Mountains National Park.
It has been estimated that 1,390 (CI: 819-2,361) individuals occur at the site.
The chimpanzee population trend is increasing.
This site has a total size of 288.5 km².
Key threats to chimpanzees are hunting, habitat encroachment due to farming, and fires.
Conservation activities include environmental education, anti-poaching patrols, and reforestation.
The status of the site was upgraded from non-hunting forest reserve to national park as part of a biodiversity offset for the Bumbuna hydroelectric dam.

Site characteristics

The site was first established as a non-hunting reserve in 1972, and upgraded to national park status in 2012 as part of an offset plan to compensate for the environmental impacts caused by the Bumbuna hydroelectric project (Brncic et al. 2010; Kormos et al. 2014). Loma Mountains National park is located in Sierra Leone’s Northern Province (Forestry Division 2012). Mount Bintumani is located in the site, which, at 1,945 m, is the highest peak in West Africa, west of Mount Cameroon (Hanson-Alp et al. 2003). The high elevations in the area gave rise to three main plant communities: closed forests and savanna (from 4,60 to 915 m), sub-montane Shrubland and gallery forests (915 to 1,700 m), and montane grassland (above 1,700, Forestry Division 2012). In addition to the western chimpanzee, the site hosts other endangered and vulnerable species, including western red colobus (Piliocolobus badius), Diana monkey (Cercopithecus diana), pygmy hippo (Choeropsis liberiensis), golden cat (Caracal aurata), and zebra duiker (Cephalophus zebra, Forestry Division 2012). The site is also an Important Bird Area (IBA) with at least 245 bird species (BirdLife International 2019).

Table 1. Basic site information for Loma Mountains National Park

Area	288.5 km²
Coordinates	9.20, -11.12
Designation	National Park
Habitat types	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane Forest, Subtropical/Tropical Dry Forest, Subtropical/Tropical Dry Shrubland, Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude Grassland

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Ape status

According to a nationwide survey in 2009, which included Loma Mountains, an estimated 1,065 chimpanzees inhabit the site (Brncic et al. 2010). Loma is estimated to harbor 20% of the country’s chimpanzee population. The highest chimpanzee densities were found at higher elevations, likely because they are not easily accessed by humans (Brncic et al. 2010). Several studies targeting chimpanzee population status at this site have reported varying density and abundance estimates. A chimpanzee survey conducted in 2008 reported a density 5.75 chimpanzee / km2, and another conducted in 2010 documented chimpanzee density at 2.69 chimpanzee / km2. The most recent survey along systematically paced line transects confirmed a population density of 4.81 chimpanzee / km2 in 2019. The varying densities reported over the last one decade shows an increasingly higher chimpanzee population occurrence at LMNP as compared to other sites in West Africa.

Table 2. Ape population estimates in Loma Mountains National Park

Species	Year	Abundance estimate (95% CI)	Density estimate [ind./ km²] (95% CI)	Encounter rate (nests/km)	Area	Method	Source	Comments
Pan troglodytes verus	2008		5.75-7.41		15% of the total area of Loma Mountains National Park	Unknown	Kortenhoven 2008 as cited by Brncic et al. 2010
Pan troglodytes verus	2009	1065 (572-1986)	2.69 (1.44-5.01)	8.27	Loma Mountains National Park	Line transects (Distance)	Brncic et al. 2010	Survey effort: 59.8 km
Pan troglodytes verus	2019	1390 (819- 2361)	4.81 (2.83- 8.18)	10.03	Loma Mountains National Park 288.5 km2	Line transects (Distance)	Garriga 2019	35 transects were placed , but 34 transects were walked for a total of 66.08 km of survey effort

Threats

During a chimpanzee survey in 2009, human activities were observed mostly in the lowland areas of the park, especially farming activities (Brncic et al. 2010). Similarly, hunting signs were less common at higher elevations, near Bintumani peak. Overall, hunting pressure is much lower in Loma Mountains National Park compared to Tingi Hills or WAPFR (Brncic et al. 2010). Human activity such as hunting either for subsistence or commercial purpose are predominant in the central areas, evidence from hunting trails, gun shells and snares, and farming activities more frequent near the park boundaries. However, less signs of human activities have been observed in the areas with higher chimpanzee nest encounters, mostly areas with steeper hills and more difficult access for humans (Garriga & Kanneh 2022). While local people considerably rely on bushmeat, most of it is obtained close to the fields, and larger animals account only for a smaller fraction of bushmeat consumed (Forestry Division 2012). Uncontrolled wildfire is also another serious threat to the ecosystem structure of the park that spread widely in the park at the peak of the dry season. During the 2019 survey, cleared and burnt areas of the forest (suspected source from farming activities and wild fire introduced by cattle herdsmen) close to the boundary and inside the park were frequently walked by the field team (Garriga 2019).

Table 3. Threats to great apes in Loma Mountains National Park

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Quantified severity	Description	Year of threat
1. Residential & commercial development	1.1 Housing & urban areas	Present		Villages and farmland where located within the site before new boundaries where agreed upon in 2012 (Forestry Division 2012)	Ongoing (2012)
2. Agriculture & aquaculture	2.1 Annual & perennial non-timber crops	Low		Vegetation cleared for agriculture (Brncic et al. 2010, Forestry Division 2012). Farming along the park boundary and certain areas within the park exist, carried out by the forest edge community members (Garriga & Kanneh 2022).	Ongoing (2022)
	2.3 Livestock farming & ranching	Present, but threat severity unknown	15% of vegetation cleared	Cattle rearing at the landscape is predominant mainly in the dry season (Garriga, 2019).	Ongoing (2019)
3. Energy production & mining		Absent
4. Transportation & service corridors		Unknown
5. Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	Present, but threat severity unknown		Hunting (hunting trails, gun shells and snares) (Garriga 2019).	Ongoing (2019)
	5.2 Gathering terrestrial plants	Present		The site is a source of medicinal plants, wild fruits, herbs, and building materials for local people (Forestry Division 2012)	Ongoing (2012)
	5.3 Logging & wood harvesting	Low		Logging for subsistence (Forestry Division 2012)	Ongoing (2012)
6. Human intrusions & disturbance		Unknown
7. Natural system modifications	7.1 Fire & fire suppression	Present, but threat severity unknown		Fires to clear vegetation within and around the park sometimes extend beyond the intended field (Forestry Division 2012). Wildfire is also a common threat to the forest ecosystem. This is more frequent in the dry season, and the fire is mostly put on by the cattle herders for fresh and young nutritious grass for their cattle (Garriga & Kanneh 2022).	Ongoing (2022)
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

The Forestry Division of Sierra Leone is responsible for the management of protected areas (Forestry Division 2012). The World Bank provided initial funding for the setup of the national park, but the long-term, sustainable financing of the park has not been secured (Kormos et al. 2014; Forestry Division 2012). Conservation measures for the park have included the development of a management plan, demarcation of the park’s boundaries, and posting and training staff (Kormos et al. 2014). The conservation activities undertaken within and outside the park have been restored since 2019 with one year funds from the US Fish and Wildlife Service through TCS to protect the remaining population of western chimpanzees thriving in the park. Since 2019, lots of conservation interventions are ongoing to support the protection of the park and sustain the long-term conservation of the remaining population of western chimpanzees. Before the intervention of TCS in 2019, the Biodiversity Conservation Project (BCP) was implemented that led to the construction of the park centre and other conservation interventions (Garriga & Kanneh 2022).

Table 4. Conservation activities in Loma Mountains National Park

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	5.6. Conduct regular anti-poaching patrols	As of 2012, two rangers were part of the park’s staff (Forestry Division 2012)	Since 2012
	5.11. Provide training to anti-poaching ranger patrols	Training for bio-monitors, TKEEP teachers coordinators and local farmers to support capacity building. The community bio-monitors periodically received training on data collection procedures on wildlife and human signs and activities, and forest patrol techniques. Likewise the TKEEP Teachers coordinators on education following the TKEEP work book. And the farmers on sustainable agricultural practices (Garriga & Kanneh 2022).	Ongoing (2019)
	5.15. Implement monitoring surveillance strategies (e.g. SMART) or use monitoring data to improve effectiveness of wildlife law enforcement patrols	Law enforcement through active forest patrols. The National Protected Area Authority (NPAA) game guards working in conjunction with the Tacugama community bio-monitors patrol the park and its territories while collecting data on human activities and wildlife presence (Garriga & Kanneh 2022).	Ongoing (2019)
	5.16. Implement community control of patrolling, banning hunting and removing snares	Active bio-monitoring to support research activities: Since 2019 to date there have been well-planned and active bio-monitoring activities undertaken by the TCS community bio-monitors with the LMNP. The biomonitoring employs specialised software programs (SMART, CyberTracker and Gaia GPS) installed on android mobile devices for data collection on wildlife and human activities presence and distribution within the park (Garriga & Kanneh 2022).	Ongoing (2019)
	5.17. Provide sustainable alternative livelihoods; establish fish- or domestic meat farms	Tacugama provides alternatives to bushmeat such as chickens and goats (Marah, K. pers. comm. 2023).	Ongoing (2023)
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	10.1. Educate local communities about primates and sustainable use	Conservation education in selected schools of the park communities: TCS have extended its education program in the schools working with the schools kids and teacher coordinators to fully implement its Tacugama Kids Environmental Education Program (TKEEP) workbook at the beginning/end of every school year since 2020 (Garriga & Kanneh 2022).	Ongoing (2019)
11. Habitat Protection	11.2. Legally protect primate habitat	The site is designated as national park since 2012 (Forestry Division 2012)	Since 2012
	11.6. Demarcate and enforce boundaries of protected areas	Resurveying and physically demarcating park boundary (Kormos et al. 2014)	Ongoing (2014)
	11.9. Plant indigenous fast-growing trees (will not necessarily resemble original community) in clear-cut areas	Reforestation: tree planting of native species with high survival rate occurring at the park region. Every year since 2019 to date, the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary (TCS) organised the local community members and engaged them in tree planting of degraded areas along the park boundary in the months of July and August (Garriga & Kanneh 2022).	Ongoing (2019)
12. Species Management	Not reported
13. Livelihood; Economic & Other Incentives	13.2. Provide non-monetary benefits to local communities for sustainably managing their forest and its wildlife (e.g. better education, infrastructure development)	Agriculture: support with agricultural inputs (groundnut and rice seeds and tools) for cultivation (Marah, K. pers. comm. 2023). Livelihood support to the park communities in the form of agricultural seeds, tools and sustainable cultivation practices training to farmers groups. The community members who practise farming have been formed into small groups (farmer groups) and are supported with the required agriculture inputs every year since 2019 (Garriga & Kanneh 2022).	Ongoing (2023)

Conservation activities list (Junker et al. 2017)

Challenges

Conservation funds to finance the operation of the park for long term meeting community livelihoods: although there are ongoing livelihood activities, the resources are limited to adequately respond to many needs of the residing park communities mainly in terms of infrastructure and other basic needs of life (Garriga & Kanneh 2022). Lack of presence of the National Protected Area Authority, partly due to lack of accommodation in the park and difficulty to reach the area (Marah, K. pers. comm. 2023).

Table 5. Challenges reported for Loma Mountains National Park

Challenge	Source
Lack of financial means	Kormos et al. 2014
Lack of national protection	Garriga & Kanneh 2022, Marah, K. pers. comm. 2023
Lack of logistical means	Garriga & Kanneh 2022
Lack of park infrastructure	Marah, K. pers. comm. 2023

Research activities

Research activities include: chimpanzee surveys using systematically placed line transect throughout the park; bio-monitoring using the SMART and CyberTracker applications; environmental education and sensitizations on the Sierra Leone National Animal – National Animal Campaign through questionnaire and survey led by Tacugama within the park communities (Garriga & Kanneh 2022).

Documented behaviours

Table 6. Great ape behaviors reported for Loma Mountains National Park

Behavior	Source
Ground nesting	Marah, K. pers. comm. 2023
Termite fishing	Marah, K. pers. comm. 2023
Removing top of palm tree	Marah, K. pers. comm. 2023

References

BirdLife International. 2019. Important Bird Areas factsheet: Loma Mountains Non-hunting Forest Reserve. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 19/08/2019.
Brncic, T.M., Amarasekaran,B. & McKenna,A. 2010. Final Report of the Sierra Leone National Chimpanzee Census Project. Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary, Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Carlsen,F., Leus, K., Traylor-Holzer, K., McKenna, A.(Editors). 2012. Western Chimpanzee Population and Habitat Viability Assessment for Sierra Leone: Final Report. IUCN/SSC Conservation Breeding Specialist Group – Europe (CBSG Europe), Copenhagen, Denmark.
Forestry Division. 2012. Loma Mountains National Park: Preliminary Management Plan 2013-2017. Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security, Sierra Leone
Hanson-Alp, R., Bakarr, M.I., Lebbie, A., Bangura, K.I. 2003. West African Chimpanzees. Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan, Chapter 10: Sierra Leone. IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK
Garriga R.M., (2019). Loma Mountains National Park Chimpanzee Nest Survey, Report, Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary. Freetown, Sierra Leone. 25p
Garriga, R. & Kanneh, A. (2022, October 20-21). Sierra Leone. Regional workshop on IUCN APES wiki, Monrovia, Liberia. Kormos R, Kormos CF, Humle T, Lanjouw A, Rainer H, et al. 2014. Great Apes and Biodiversity Offset Projects in Africa: The Case for National Offset Strategies. PLOS ONE 9(11): e111671. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0111671

Page completed by: Ambrose Bockarie Kanneh, Rosa M. Garriga & Konkofa MarahDate: 25/01/2023

Loma Mountains National Park

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