Garamba National Park Complex

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Summary

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Leaflet

• Eastern chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) are present in Garamba National Park Complex.
• The population size is unknown.
• The population trend is unknown.
• The site has a total size of 14,795 km².
• Key threats to chimpanzees are poaching and armed conflict.
• Conservation activities have focused on anti-poaching patrols, providing employment and non-monetary benefits to the local communities, such as healthcare.
• The site is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Garamba National Park Complex map © Anne Laudisoit

Site characteristics

The Garamba National Park Complex (GNPC) is located in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Garamba National Park was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980 for its protection of critical habitat for elephants, giraffes, hippopotamuses and the critically endangered northern white rhinoceros (UNESCO 2011). Since 2005, the park has been managed by African Parks in partnership with the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN). The park spans 5,133 km2, and the adjacent domaines de chasse, or hunting areas, cover 9,662 km2. The hunting areas are: Azande, Mondo-Missa, and Gangala na Bodio (UNESCO 2011). The GNPC comprises a vast undulating plateau composed mainly of long-grass and dense bush savanna shaped by fire (UNESCO 2011). Situated between the Guinean and Sudanese biogeographic realms, the area is unusually diverse. Together with Manovo in the Central African Republic, the Garamba National Park is one of the most important habitats for a number of sudano-guinean species (UNESCO 2011). Until recently it contained the last viable natural population of northern white rhinoceros, Ceratotherium simum cottoni, which have not been recorded in the park since 2008 (UNESCO 2021). Among 42 other mammal species, over 8,800 eastern chimpanzees have been recorded for the area around the Ituri forest, Okapi and Garamba (UNESCO 2011).

Table 1. Basic site information for Garamba National Park Complex

Species	'Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii
Area	14,795 km²
Coordinates	Lat: 4.192005 , Lon: 29.578278
Type of site	Conservation area
Habitat types	Subtropical/tropical dry forest, Savanna, Grassland, Subtropical/tropical swamp forest
Type of governance

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Camera trap image © Research and Monitoring team, GNPC, African Parks

Ape status

In 2008 a monitoring programme was set up to identify the distribution of chimpanzees (Africa Parks 2012). The monitoring involved chimpanzee tracking on foot (more than 3000 km have been covered), recording calls and counting nests. In 2011 a camera trap in the Mondo-Missa region recorded a chimpanzee (Africa Parks 2012). In 2021 and 2022 camera traps were deployed in Mondo-Missa and Azande hunting areas. Chimpanzee presence was confirmed again in Azande for the first time since 1994. The camera trap survey also led to the re-discovery of Oustalet’s red colobus (Piliocolobus oustaleti) in Azande (Diodio et al. 2022, Laudisoit 2022). Furthermore, the presence of the golden cat, giant pangolin, leopard, yellow-backed duiker, aardvark and bongo were recorded in Mondo-Missa, and the Koreri forest fragment just outside the GNPC was found to hold a high density of chimpanzees, although given its small size, the fragment might be home to 6 or 7 individuals only (Diodio et al. 2022, Laudisoit 2022).

Table 2. Ape population estimates reported for Garamba National Park Complex

Species	Year	Occurrence	Encounter or vistation 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 schweinfurthii	2011	Present				Mondo Missa	Camera trap		AP 2012
Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii	2022		1.9			Azande	Reconnaissance walk		Diodio et al. 2022, Laudisoit 2022
Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii	2021-2022		4.7			Gbere, Mondo-Missa	Line transects & recces		Diodio et al. 2022, Laudisoit 2022	152 chimpanzee nests were recorded along one 1.4 km transect; 5 individuals were identified
Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii	2021		7.3			Buru, Mondo-Missa	Line transects & recces		Diodio et al. 2022, Laudisoit 2022	54 nests were recorded along 1.8 km transect and 7.28 km recce; 11 individuals were identified
Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii	2022		0			Kurukwata-Planteki fragment (1km2)	Reconnaissance walk		Diodio et al. 2022, Laudisoit 2022	5.9km recce walked. The forest fragment is outside of the GNPC
Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii	2022		5.3	8.5		Kurukwata-Koreri fragment (0.7km2)	Reconnaissance walk		Diodio et al. 2022, Laudisoit 2022	42 chimpanzee nests were recorded along our 7.9 km recce (N=2) of which 5 flimsy ground nests. The forest fragment is outside of the GNPC

Threats

Table 3. Threats to apes reported for Garamba National Park Complex

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Description	Year of threat
10 Geological events		Absent
12 Other threat		Absent
2 Agriculture & aquaculture	2.1 Annual & perennial non-timber crops	High (more than 70% of population affected)	Slash-and-burn agriculture and habitat conversion in Buru and in the Kurukwata-Planteki forest fragment (Diodio et al. 2022, Laudisoit 2022).	Ongoing (2022)
3 Energy production & mining	3.2 Mining & quarrying	High (more than 70% of population affected)	Small scale gold mining in Mondo-Missa. A total of 18 mine pits were recorded and collateral damage to the forest is visible with logged trees and slash-and-burnt areas to the west of the gallery forest (Diodio et al. 2022, Laudisoit 2022).	Ongoing (2022)
5 Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	High (more than 70% of population affected)	Poaching by nationals and trans-border armed groups (UNESCO 2021). Poachers made up of South Sudanese armed groups, the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) and others, mainly target the region’s remaining elephants for their ivory (Africa Parks).	Ongoing (2021)
5 Biological resource use	5.3 Logging & wood harvesting	High (more than 70% of population affected)	In Buru and Kurukwata-Planteki, logging, slash-and-burn practice and habitat conversion is the main threat (Diodio et al. 2022, Laudisoit 2022).	Ongoing (2022)
6 Human intrusions & disturbance	6.2 War, civil unrest & military exercises	High (more than 70% of population affected)	Armed conflict and political instability threatening flagship species of the park (UNESCO 2021).	Ongoing (2021)
1 Residential & commercial development		Unknown
4 Transportation & service corridors		Unknown
7 Natural system modifications		Unknown
8 Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseases		Unknown
9 Pollution		Unknown
11 Climate change & severe weather		Unknown

IUCN Threats list

Conservation activities

Table 4. Conservation activities reported for Garamba National Park Complex

Category	Specific activity	Description	Implementing organization(s)	Year of activity
2 Counter-wildlife crime	2.3 Conduct regular anti-poaching patrols	The site has a canine unit available to improve surveillance in the park. The number of guards increased from 243 to 286 in 2021. The number of patrols has also increased, from 447 in 2018 to 744 in 2020, leading to arrests and seizures of illegal products (UNESCO 2021).		Ongoing (2021)
7 Economic & other incentives	7.1 Provide monetary benefits to local communities for sustainably managing their forest and its wildlife (e.g., REDD, alternative income, employment)	Garamba employs over 500 full-time local staff with 2,000 more on short-term contracts (Africa Parks).		Ongoing
7 Economic & other incentives	7.2 Provide non-monetary benefits to local communities for sustainably managing their forest and its wildlife (e.g., better education, infrastructure development)	Access to health care and various activities covering educational to environmental services is provided to the park's staff and local communities as part of a sustainable development strategy (UNESCO 2021).		Ongoing (2021)

Conservation activities list (Junker et al. 2017)

Biomonitoring GNPC © Anne Laudisoit

Challenges

Table 5. Challenges reported for Garamba National Park Complex

Challenges	Specific challenges	Source	Year(s)
	Not reported

Oustalet’s red colobus © Anne Laudisoit

Enablers

Table 6. Enablers reported for Garamba National Park Complex

Enablers	Specific enablers	Source	Year(s)
1 Site management
2 Resources and capacity
3 Engaged community
4 Institutional support
5 Ecological context
6 Safety and stability

Research activities

In the early 1950s a wealth of taxonomic information was gathered in an expedition, which was made available in a series of publications. In the early 1970s, the FAO gathered information on the rhinoceros and flew an aerial census of large mammal species. Since 1984, as part of a rehabilitation project, the rhino population has been investigated and monitored; general ecosystem monitoring was carried out, including aerial counts, vegetation description and habitat mapping. An experimental burning programme was also tested (UNESCO 2021).

Documented behaviours

Table 7. Behaviours documented for Garamba National Park Complex

Behavior	Source
Ground nesting	Diodio et al. 2022, Laudisoit 2022

External links

African Parks - Garamba

References

Diodio, A.S., Vogel, J., Diana, D.K., Massini, J.M., Edouard, D.N., Minahilo, R.G., Esube, R.L., Lugala, D.K., Antonínová, M., Jérôme, A. and Laudisoit, A. (2022). A decade of silent chimpanzee monitoring in the Garamba Complex, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Abstracts of the conference of the European Federation for Primatology (EFP), 1-3 June 2022, Royal Burgers’ Zoo, Arnhem, The Netherlands.

Laudisoit A. (2022). Chimpanzee monitoring within the Garamba NP Complex. Internal Report. Year 2021-2022. 26p. Delivered to African Parks Network.

UNESCO (2021). State of conservation: Garamba National Park. Online: https://whc.unesco.org/en/soc/4023

UNESCO (2011). Garamba National Park. Online: http://world-heritage-datasheets.unep-wcmc.org/datasheet/output/site/garamba-national-park/

Page created by: Anne Laudisoit & A.P.E.S. Wiki team Date: NA