Banyang-Mbo Wildlife Sanctuary

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Summary

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• Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes ellioti) are present in Banyang-Mbo Wildlife Sanctuary.
• The population size is unknown.
• The population trend is decreasing.
• The site has a total size of 640 km².
• Key threats to chimpanzees are hunting, logging, and agricultural encroachment .
• Conservation activities are not documented.

Site characteristics

Established in 1996, Banyang-Mbo Wildlife Sanctuary (BMWS) is situated between Korup National Park to the west and Santchou Wildlife Reserve to the east. With 322 bird species recorded, the site is an Important Bird Area (BirdLife International 2020). Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzees, mandrills, and forest elephants are present in BMWS. The population of forest elephants has been significantly reduced by poaching. BMWS falls naturally into two sections: the northern block where the terrain is mostly flat, and a mountainous southern block, which includes a small part of the Bakossi mountains (BirdLife International 2020).

Table 1. Basic site information for Banyang-Mbo Wildlife Sanctuary

Species	Pan troglodytes ellioti
Area	640 km²
Coordinates	5.357767, 9.609717
Type of site	Protected area (Wildlife Sanctuary)
Governance type
Habitat type	Subtropical/tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical/tropical moist montane forest, subtropical/tropical heavily degraded former forest

Types of sites ⋅ Governance types Habitat types

Ape status

There was a notable decrease in the relative populations of chimpanzees in the site between 2007 and 2014; concurrently, there was a significant rise in hunting trail density within the BMWS during that period (Kupsch & Bobo 2024).

Table 2. Ape population estimates in Banyang-Mbo Wildlife Sanctuary

Species	Year	Occurrence	Encounter or visitation rate (nests/km; ind/day)	Density estimate [ind/ km²] (95% CI)	Abundance estimate (95% CI)	Survey area	Sampling method	Analytical framework	Source	Comments	A.P.E.S. database ID
Pan troglodytes ellioti	2007	Present	1.793		500-1000	Banyang-Mbo Wildlife Sanctuary	Line transects		Greengrass & Maisels 2007 as cited by Morgan et al. 2011 and Kupsch & Bobo 2024	Survey effort: 30.5 km (n = 17 transects)
Pan troglodytes ellioti	2013-2014	Present	0.129			Banyang-Mbo Wildlife Sanctuary	Line transects		Kupsch & Bobo 2024	Survey effort: 124.5 km (n = 83 transects)

Sampling methods Analytical frameworks

Threats

The site is mainly threatened by logging, hunting and agricultural encroachment, and there are a number of villages found legally within the sanctuary boundaries (BirdLife International 2020). A study (Kupsch & Bobo 2024) found that the threatening situation for wildlife in the site, especially for elephants and primates, points to high poaching pressure between 2007 and 2014. The abundances of these species as well as of duikers are now almost similar to the low levels in Korup National Park. This is supported by the notable increase in encounter rates of hunting trails in BMWS, similar to the high rates observed in Korup National Park.

Table 3. Threats to apes in Banyang-Mbo Wildlife Sanctuary

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Description	Year of threat
1. Residential & commercial development	1.1 Housing & urban areas	Present (unknown severity)	A number of villages are legally found within the boundaries of the site (BirdLife International 2020).	2001-Ongoing (2020)
2. Agriculture & aquaculture	2.1 Annual & perennial non-timber crops	Present (unknown severity)	Agricultural encroachment is a threat in the site (BirdLife International 2020).	2001-Ongoing (2020)
3. Energy production & mining		Unknown
4. Transportation & service corridors		Unknown
5. Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	High	The presence of hunting trails has been reported in separate surveys (Greengrass & Maisels 2007, Kupsch & Bobo 2024). Hunting trails increased between 2007 and 2014, and hunting is ongoing (Kupsch & Bobo 2024). Commercial poaching is also present (Morgan et al. 2011; BirdLife International 2020).	2001-Ongoing (2024)
5. Biological resource use	5.3 Logging & wood harvesting	Present (unknown severity)	Logging is a threat in the area (BirdLife International 2020).	2001-Ongoing (2020)
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

Threats

Conservation activities

Table 4. Conservation activities in Banyang-Mbo Wildlife Sanctuary

Category	Specific activity	Description	Implementing organization	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	11.2. Legally protect primate habitat	The Wildlife Sanctuary was created in 1996 ([1]).		1996-Ongoing (2024)
12. Species Management	Not reported
13. Livelihood; Economic & Other Incentives	Not reported

Conservation activities

Conservation implementation: challenges and enablers

Table 5. Challenges reported for Banyang-Mbo Wildlife Sanctuary

Category	Challenge	Source	Year of challenge
1. Site management	Not reported
2. Resources & capacity	Not reported
3. Engaged community	Not reported
4. Institutional support	Not reported
5. Ecological context	Not reported
6. Safety & stability	Not reported

Challenges

Table 6. Enablers reported for Banyang-Mbo Wildlife Sanctuary

Category	Enabler	Source	Year of enabler
1. Site management	Not reported
2. Resources & capacity	Not reported
3. Engaged community	Not reported
4. Institutional support	Not reported
5. Ecological context	Not reported
6. Safety & stability	Not reported

Enablers

Research activities

Documented behaviours

Table 7. Ape behaviors reported for Banyang-Mbo Wildlife Sanctuary

Behavior	Source
Not reported

Exposure to climate change impacts

As part of a study on the exposure of African great ape sites to climate change impacts, Kiribou et al. (2024) extracted climate data and data on projected extreme climate impact events for the site. Climatological characteristics were derived from observation-based climate data provided by the Inter-Sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project ([ISIMIP www.isimip.org]). Parameters were calculated as the average across each 30-year period. For future projections, two Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) were used. RCP 2.6 is a scenario with strong mitigation measures in which global temperatures would likely rise below 2°C. RCP 6.0 is a scenario with medium emissions in which global temperatures would likely rise up to 3°C by 2100. For the number of days with heavy precipitation events, the 98th percentile of all precipitation days (>1mm/d) was calculated for the 1979-2013 reference period as a threshold for a heavy precipitation event. Then, for each year, the number of days above that threshold was derived. The figures on temperature and precipitation anomaly show the deviation from the mean temperature and mean precipitation for the 1979-2013 reference period. The estimated exposure to future extreme climate impact events (crop failure, drought, river flood, wildfire, tropical cyclone, and heatwave) is based on a published dataset by Lange et al. 2020 derived from ISIMIP2b data. The same global climate models and RCPs as described above were used. Within each 30-year period, the number of years with an extreme event and the average proportion of the site affected were calculated (Kiribou et al. 2024).

Table 8. Estimated past and projected climatological characteristics in Banyang-Mbo Wildlife Sanctuary

	1981-2010	2021-2050, RCP 2.6	2021-2050, RCP 6.0	2071-2099, RCP 2.6	2071-2099, RCP 6.0
Mean temperature [°C]	23.7	24.8	24.7	24.9	26
Annual precipitation [mm]	2316	2399	2414	2475	2472
Max no. consecutive dry days (per year)	40.7	31.7	35.9	34.5	38.8
No. days with heavy precipitation (per year)	6.1	6.5	6.1	7	7.2

Table 9. Projected exposure of apes to extreme climate impact events in Banyang-Mbo Wildlife Sanctuary

	No. of years with event (2021-2050, RCP 2.6)	% of site exposed (2021-2050, RCP 2.6)	No. of years with event (2021-2050, RCP 6.0)	% of site exposed (2021-2050, RCP 6.0)	No. of years with event (2070-2099, RCP 2.6)	% of site exposed (2070-2099, RCP 2.6)	No. of years with event (2070-2099, RCP 6.0)	% of site exposed (2070-2099, RCP 6.0)
Crop failure	3.5	0.41	3.5	0.57	2.5	0.12	4.5	0.14
Drought	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Heatwave	2	100	1.5	100	2	100	3	100
River flood	2.5	1.23	1.75	0.2	2	0.81	5.25	1.72
Tropical cyclone	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Wildfire	30	0.67	30	0.68	29	0.66	29	0.69

• 

  Precipitation anomaly in Banyang-Mbo Wildlife Sanctuary
• 

  Temperature anomaly in Banyang-Mbo Wildlife Sanctuary

External links

WWF Banyang-Mbo Wildlife Sanctuary

References

BirdLife International (2020) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Banyang Mbo Wildlife Sanctuary. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 30/12/2020.
Greengrass, E. J., & Maisels, F. (2007). Conservation of the Nigerian-Cameroon Chimpanzee P. t. vellerosus, (and other mammals) in and around Banyang-Mbo Wildlife Sanctuary, Southwest province, Cameroon. Report, WCS Cameroon Programme, Wildlife Conservation Society, New York.
Kiribou, R., Tehoda, P., Chukwu, O., Bempah, G., Kühl, H. S., Ferreira, J., ... & Heinicke, S. (2024). Exposure of African ape sites to climate change impacts. PLOS Climate, 3(2), e0000345.
Kupsch, D., & Bobo, K. S. (2024). Distribution parameters of large mammals and conservation management in an Afrotropical forest landscape and biodiversity hotspot. African Journal of Ecology, 62(2), e13254.br> Lange, S., Volkholz, J., Geiger, T., Zhao, F., Vega, I., Veldkamp, T., ... & Frieler, K. (2020). Projecting exposure to extreme climate impact events across six event categories and three spatial scales. Earth's Future, 8(12), e2020EF001616.
Morgan, B. J., Adeleke, A., Bassey, T., Bergl, R., Dunn, A., Fotso, R., ... & Williamson, E. A. (2011). Regional action plan for the conservation of the Nigeria–Cameroon chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes ellioti). IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group and Zoological Society of San Diego.

Page completed by: A.P.E.S. Wiki team Date: 14/03/2024