Bia Shelter Belt Forest Reserve

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Summary

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• Western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) are present in Bia Shelter Belt Forest Reserve.
• The population size is unknown.
• The chimpanzee population trend is unknown.
• The size of the site is 31.4 km².
• Key threats to chimpanzees are poaching and logging.
• Conservation activities have focused on education and patrols.

Site characteristics

Bia Shelter Belt Forest Reserve is a tropical semi-deciduous forest. It is home to pangolins, duikers, and monkeys, among other species. The area also has a good forest but exploitation of the Forest and other activities are reducing the status of the forest cover (Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023).

Table 1. Basic site information for Bia Shelter Belt Forest Reserve

Species	Pan troglodytes verus
Area	31.4 km²
Coordinates	7.050600, -2.695950
Type of site	Protected area (Forest Reserve)
Governance type
Habitat type	Subtropical/tropical moist lowland forest

Types of sites ⋅ Governance types ⋅ Habitat types

Ape status

No recent survey has been conducted at the area but some farmers and hunters within the area claimed they have been spotting chimpanzees periodically in the Bia Shelter Belt Forest Reserve (Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023).

Table 2. Ape population estimates in Bia Shelter Belt Forest Reserve

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 verus	2023	Present				Bia Shelter Belt Forest Reserve			Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023

Sampling methods ⋅ Analytical frameworks

Threats

In the past, around the 1990s, threats were not very serious, but the threats to the forest are now increasing along with the human population increase, which leads to the higher demand for resources. Poaching threat is medium in the core area of the reserve and more severe closer to towns, villages and farms; illegal logging is severe all over the Reserve (Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023). Illegal logging and some periodic spot burnings occur in the reserve (Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023).

Table 3. Threats to apes in Bia Shelter Belt Forest Reserve

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Description	Year of threat
1. Residential & commercial development		Unknown
2. Agriculture & aquaculture		Unknown
3. Energy production & mining		Unknown
4. Transportation & service corridors		Unknown
5. Biological resource use	5.1.1 Subsistence bushmeat hunting	Medium	Farmers and hunters get most of their livelihood from the Forest Reserve (Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023).	Ongoing (2023)
5. Biological resource use	5.3 Logging & wood harvesting	High	Part of the area was under timber concession until 2019. Illegal logging and collection of forest products are still taking place (since 1980s but intensified from 2005 up to date) (Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023).	2005-Ongoing (2023)
6. Human intrusion & disturbance		Unknown
7. Natural system modifications	7.1 Fire & fire suppression	Low	Sometimes the forest catches fire and destroys part of the forest, which changes the structure of the forest (Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023).	Ongoing (2023)
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

Forestry Commission staff undertake patrols within the forest and carry out conservation education in the communities on the best conservation practices. The Forestry Commission is making efforts to intensify protection by deploying reinforcement teams from Ghana Forest Rapid Response Teams to the area to support the protection of the forest (Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023).

Table 4. Conservation activities in Bia Shelter Belt Forest Reserve

Category	Specific activity	Description	Implementing organization	Year of activity
1. Development impact mitigation	Not reported
2. Counter-wildlife crime	2.3 Conduct regular anti-poaching patrols	Wildlife staff and Forest Guards undertake patrols in the reserve to control illegalities (Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023).		Ongoing (2023)
3. Species health	Not reported
4. Education & awareness	4.1 Educate local communities about apes and sustainable use		Conservation education is carried out by Wildlife staff (Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023).	Ongoing (2023)
5. Protection & restoration	5.2 Legally protect ape habitat			Ongoing (2023)
5. Protection & restoration	5.6 Habitat restoration	Enrichment planting is ongoing in the Forest Reserve and the trees are doing very well (Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023).		Ongoing (2023)
6. Species management	Not reported
7. Economic & other incentives	Not reported
8. Permanent presence	Not reported

Conservation activities

Conservation implementation challenges and enablers

Restrictions into Forest Reserves are not the same as for National Parks and Resource reserves; as a result, illegal offtake control has not been so effective and the increase of population and demand for resources for their livelihood has made effective conservation difficult. Inadequate staffing, bad roads, little field equipment, no survey equipment, lack of vehicles, inadequate funding etc. hampers protection (Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023).

Table 5. Challenges reported for Bia Shelter Belt Forest Reserve

Category	Challenge	Source	Year(s)
1. Site management	Not reported
2. Resources & capacity	2.2 Lack of staff	Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023
2. Resources & capacity	2.5 Lack of equipment/transportation	Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023
3. Engaged community	3.1 General lack of community engagement or support	Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023
4. Institutional support	4.1 Lack of law enforcement	Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023
5. Ecological context	Not reported
6. Safety & stability	Not reported

Challenges

Table 6. Enablers reported for Bia Shelter Belt Forest Reserve

Category	Enabler	Source	Year(s)
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

Periodic research by the Forestry Commission, NGOs and others take place in the Forest Reserve.

Documented behaviours

Table 7. Ape behaviors reported for Bia Shelter Belt Forest Reserve

Behavior	Source
Not reported

External links

Ghana Forestry Commission

References

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.
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.

Page completed by: Richard Ofori-Amanfo Date: 09/11/2023