East Nimba Nature Reserve

West Africa > Liberia > East Nimba Nature Reserve

Summary

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• Western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) are present in East Nimba Nature Reserve.
• It has been estimated that 28 individuals occur at the site.
• The chimpanzee population trend is stable.
• This site has a total size of 135 km².
• Key threats to chimpanzees are habitat loss due to iron ore mining and shifting agriculture, and poaching.
• Flora and Fauna International, and Conservation International support Liberia’s Forest Development Authority in the protection of the site and implementation of conservation activities, focused mainly on education and awareness.
• The site borders Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve in Guinea.

Site characteristics

East Nimba Nature Reserve is located in the north of Liberia, bordering Guinea and Cote d’Ivoire. East Nimba Nature Reserve was established in 2003 and covers part of the Mount Nimba Mountain range, which spans across Liberia, Guinea, and Cote d’Ivoire. The reserve borders Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve (UNEP-WCMC and IUCN 2019). In addition to the Western chimpanzee, other endangered and endemic (species) inhabit the site, including Jentink’s duiker (Cephalophus jentinki), Nimba otter shrew (Micropotamogale lamottei), Nimba flycatcher (Melaenornis annamarulae) and Nimba toad (Nimbaphrynoides occidentalis).

Table 1. Basic site information for East Nimba Nature Reserve

Area	135 km²
Coordinates	7.51 N, -8.53 W
Designation	Strict Nature Reserve
Habitat types	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane Forest

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Ape status

The population in East Nimba Strict Nature Reserve has been estimated at 28 individuals (WCF unpubl. data). In addition, chimpanzee presence in the reserve has been recorded by the nationwide survey teams (Tweh et al. 2014). However, based on two unpublished datasets from 2010 (WCF unpubl. data) and 2014 (PANAF unpubl. data) Kühl et al. (2017) estimated a stable population size for this site.

Table 2. Great ape population estimates in East Nimba Nature 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	28			East Nimba Nature Reserve	Index survey	WCF unpubl. data, in Kühl et al. 2017	‘reconnaissance walk’, survey effort: 178 km
Pan troglodytes verus	2010-2011			0.17	East Nimba Nature Reserve (area around Geipa, Camp 4, Cold Water)	Index survey	CI 2012	‘reconnaissance walk’, survey effort: 41.32 km
Pan troglodytes verus	2011-2012			Present	East Nimba Nature Reserve	Line transects (Distance)	Tweh et al. 2014

Threats

Part of the nature reserve was severely degraded due to iron ore mining that occurred between 1962 and 1989 (CILSS 2016). The site has also been severely affected by deforestation; between 1974 and 2014, about half of its forest cover was lost (CILSS 2016). Bushmeat hunting in the area is also a key threat to chimpanzees (Bene et al. 2013).

Table 3. Threats to great apes in East Nimba Nature Reserve

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Quantified severity	Description	Year of threat
1. Residential & commercial development		Absent
2. Agriculture & aquaculture	2.1 Annual & perennial non-timber crops	High		Slash-and-burn agriculture (CILSS 2016)	Ongoing (2016)
3. Energy production & mining	3.2 Mining & quarrying	High		Iron ore mining (CILSS 2016)	1969-1989
4. Transportation & service corridors	4.1 Roads & railroads	Present		Mining activities lead to the construction of roads, further impacting the area (CILSS 2016)	Ongoing (2016)
5. Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals	High		High hunting and poaching rates have been reported in the Nimba mountain range in Liberia (Bene et al. 2013)	Ongoing (2013)
	5.3 Logging & wood harvesting	High		The site lost half of its forest cover due to logging between 1974 and 2014 (CILSS 2016)	1974-2014
6. Human intrusions & disturbance	6.2 War, civil unrest & military exercises	High		Influx of people fleeing areas of civil conflict during two civil wars, also resulting in a lack of law enforcement and increase in illegal logging and hunting (CILSS 2016)	1989-1996, 1999-2003
7. Natural system modifications		Absent
8. Invasive & other problematic species, genes, diseases		Absent
9. Pollution		Unknown
10. Geological Events		Absent
11. Climate change & severe weather		Unknown
12. Other options		Absent

IUCN Threats list

Conservation activities

Liberia’s Forestry Development Authority (FDA) is responsible for the protection and long-term management of East Nimba Nature Reserve. The site lies within the concession of an iron ore mining company, Arcelor Mittal Liberia (AML). In 2015, AML funded a (joint project) with Flora and Fauna International to ensure the effective management of the site and provide technical support and capacity building (FFI). Conservation International (CI) also contribute to the protection of the site by providing environmental education and conservation awareness in nearby communities (FFI). As part of their livelihood improvement project, CI recruit Frontline Conservationists from local communities, who patrol and monitor the forests in exchange of a monthly stipend (CI 2016).

Table 4. Conservation activities in East Nimba Nature 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	10.1. Educate local communities about primates and sustainable use	FFI and CI provide environmental education and raise conservation awareness around the reserve (CI 2016, FFI 2019)	Ongoing (2019)
	10.2. Involve local community in primate research and conservation management	CI recruits Frontline Conservationists from local communities receive a stipend for patrolling, gathering data, and help raise awareness (CI 2016)	Ongoing (2016)
11. Habitat Protection	11.2. Legally protect primate habitat	The site was designated as nature reserve in 2003 (UNEP-WCMC and IUCN 2019)	Ongoing (2019)
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 East Nimba Nature Reserve

Challenge	Source
Not reported

Research activities

No information on research activities has been documented.

Documented behaviours

Table 6. Great ape behaviors reported for East Nimba Nature Reserve

Behavior	Source
Not reported

References

Bene, J.K., Gamys, J. & Dufour, S. 2013. A wealth of wildlife endangered in northern Nimba county, Liberia. International Journal of Innovation and Applied Studies, 2, 314–323.
CI. 2016. East Nimba Nature Reserve Forest Conservation Project. Online: https://www.daikin.com/csr/forests/project/pdf/report_liberia_e_201605.pdf
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.
FFI. 2019. Implementing effective management of East Nimba Nature Reserve. Online: https://www.fauna-flora.org/projects/implementing-effective-management-east-nimba-nature-reserve
Kühl, H.S., Sop, T., Williamson, E.A., Mundry, R., Brugière, D., Campbell, G., Cohen, H., et al. 2017. The Critically Endangered western chimpanzee declines by 80%. American Journal of Primatology, 22681. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.22681.
Tweh, C., Lormie, M., Kouakou, C.Y., Hillers, A., Kühl, H.S., Junker, J., et al. 2014. Conservation status of chimpanzees Pan troglodytes verus and other large mammals in Liberia: a nationwide survey. Oryx, http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0030605313001191
UNEP-WCMC and IUCN. 2019. Protected Planet: [East Nimba Nature Reserve in Liberia; The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA)/The Global Database on Protected Areas Management Effectiveness (GD-PAME)] [On-line], [08/2019], Cambridge, UK: UNEP-WCMC and IUCN. Available at: www.protectedplanet.net.

Page completed by: A.P.E.S. Wiki Team Date: 29/08/2019