Changes

The main threats to wildlife in Ebo forest include habitat loss, poaching and the bushmeat trade (Abwe & Morgan 2020). In 2020, the Government of Cameroon proposed two Forest Management Units (FMU) for timber exploitation which completely cover the proposed Ebo National Park in Littoral Region, Cameroon. Widespread and systematic timber exploitation across the site would exacerbate habitat loss and poaching (Abwe & Morgan 2020). When civil society groups opposed the destruction of the species-rich forest, the government suspended the logging concessions (Atabong 2022). In 2022, bulldozers opened around 40 km of dirt road running north from the village of Kopongo, across a forestry concession and into the heart of Ebo Forest. A group calling itself the Ebo Forest Development Committee is behind the project, stating that the road is needed to connect villages around Ebo, give access to communities that were displaced from the forest in the 1950s, and stimulate the local economy. However, a local news outlet, [https://www.journalducameroun.com/cameroun-le-peuple-banen-de-retour-sur-ses-terres/ Journal du Cameroun], reported that the road is actually being built by a logging company (Atabong 2022). As of April 2023, part of the forest (68,385 ha) has been reclassified for logging (Nkemnyi, S., pers. comm. 2023).

The main threats to wildlife in Ebo forest include habitat loss, poaching and the bushmeat trade (Abwe & Morgan 2020). In 2020, the Government of Cameroon proposed two Forest Management Units (FMU) for timber exploitation which completely cover the proposed Ebo National Park in Littoral Region, Cameroon. Widespread and systematic timber exploitation across the site would exacerbate habitat loss and poaching (Abwe & Morgan 2020). When civil society groups opposed the destruction of the species-rich forest, the government suspended the logging concessions (Atabong 2022). In 2022, bulldozers opened around 40 km of dirt road running north from the village of Kopongo, across a forestry concession and into the heart of Ebo Forest. A group calling itself the Ebo Forest Development Committee is behind the project, stating that the road is needed to connect villages around Ebo, give access to communities that were displaced from the forest in the 1950s, and stimulate the local economy. However, a local news outlet, [https://www.journalducameroun.com/cameroun-le-peuple-banen-de-retour-sur-ses-terres/ Journal du Cameroun], reported that the road is actually being built by a logging company (Atabong 2022). As of April 2023, part of the forest (68,385 ha) has been reclassified for logging (Nkemnyi, S., pers. comm. 2023).

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<li style="display: inline-block; vertical-align: top;"> [[File: Ebo_hunting_camp_Standly.JPG | 400px | thumb| right |Hunting camp in Ebo forest © Nkemnyi Standly]] </li>

<li style="display: inline-block; vertical-align: top;"> [[File: Ebo_hunting_camp_Standly.jpg | 400px | thumb| right |Hunting camp in Ebo forest © Nkemnyi Standly]] </li>

<li style="display: inline-block; vertical-align: top;"> [[File: Ebo_NFTP_harvest_Standly.JPG | 400px | thumb| right |NFTP harvest © Nkemnyi Standly]] </li>

<li style="display: inline-block; vertical-align: top;"> [[File: Ebo_NFTP_harvest_Standly.jpg | 400px | thumb| right |NFTP harvest © Nkemnyi Standly]] </li>

<li style="display: inline-block; vertical-align: top;"> [[File: Forest_Ebo_Standly.JPG | 400px | thumb| right |Ebo forest © Nkemnyi Standly]] </li>

<li style="display: inline-block; vertical-align: top;"> [[File: Forest_Ebo_Standly.jpg | 400px | thumb| right |Ebo forest © Nkemnyi Standly]] </li>

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