Lac Tumba landscape

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Summary

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• Bonobos (Pan paniscus) and eastern chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) are present in the Lac Tumba landscape.
• The population sizes are unknown.
• The great ape population trend is unknown.
• The site has a total size of 78,972 km².
• Key threats to bonobos are poaching, habitat loss, and diseases.
• Conservation activities are not documented.
• The site holds the world’s largest swamp forest, and the world’s second largest wetland area.

Site characteristics

The Lac Tumba (or Lake Tumba) landscape is situated in western Democratic Republic of Congo, and extends into neighbouring Republic of Congo, forming the Lac Tumba-Lac Tele transboundary landscape. The landscape is made up mainly of marshes, seasonally flooded forests and meadows. It is home to the largest Ramsar freshwater wetland of international importance. The forest of Lac Tumba is the world’s largest swamp forest, and the world’s second largest wetland area (WWF n.d.). About 60% of the Lac Tumba landscape is inundated and seasonally flooded forest (Inogwabini et al. 2007). The landscape is home to a wide variety of large mammals, including bonobos, chimpanzees, Angolan pied colobus, Allen's swamp monkeys, black mangabeys, red colobus, red-tailed monkeys, forest elephants, buffalos and leopards (Inogwabini et al. 2007). In addition, the swamps have a rich diversity of fish and attract freshwater-dependent species such as sitatunga, water chevrotain, slender-snout crocodiles, Nile crocodile, and hippopotamus (Inogwabini et al. 2007).

Table 1. Basic site information for Lac Tumba landscape

Species	'Pan paniscus, Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii
Area	78,972 km²
Coordinates	Lat: -1.597554 , Lon: 17.117188
Type of site	Protected landscape
Habitat types	Subtropical/tropical swamp forest, Subtropical/tropical moist lowland forest, Savanna
Type of governance

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Ape status

Bonobo groups were found in five areas in a 2005 survey: (1) Bolombo-Losombo, (2) Mbala-Donkese, (3) Ngombe-Botuali, (4) Botuali-Ilombe, and (5) Mompulenge–Mbanzi-Malebo–Nguomi (Inogwabini et al. 2007). There were two sub-groups in the latter area, separated by 50 km of unbroken gallery forest, Mopulenge-Mbanzi and Malebo-Nguomi. One group of chimpanzees was found in the area between Bosobele and Lubengo (Inogwabini et al. 2007).

Table 2. Ape population estimates reported for Lac Tumba landscape

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 paniscus	2005		0.057			Bolombo-Losombo (552 sq. km)	Line transects & recces		Inogwabini et al. 2007
Pan paniscus	2005			0.27 (0.24-0.29)	17 (15-19)	Mbala-Donkese (160 sq. km)	Line transects & recces		Inogwabini et al. 2007
Pan paniscus	2005			0.27 (0.24-0.29)	198 (176-212)	Ngombe-Botuali (1,829 sq. km)	Line transects & recces		Inogwabini et al. 2007
Pan paniscus	2005			0.27 (0.24-0.29)	103 (92-111)	Botuali-Ilombe (955 sq. km)	Line transects & recces		Inogwabini et al. 2007
Pan paniscus	2005			2.2 (1.8-3.4)	2,297 (1,880-3,550)	Malebo-Nguomi (1,993 sq. km)	Line transects & recces		Inogwabini et al. 2007
Pan paniscus	2005		1.2			Mopulenge-Mbanzi (1,380,390 sq. km)	Line transects & recces		Inogwabini et al. 2007
Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii	2005		0.019			Bosobele-Lubengo (4,047 sq. km)	Line transects & recces		Inogwabini et al. 2007

Threats

Poaching, habitat loss, and diseases are the main direct threats to bonobos in Lac Tumba (IUCN & ICCN 2012). Although logging has been considered moderately severe, the situation is considered reversible if sufficient efforts are made, such as closing of logging roads and rehabilitation of the natural vegetation (IUCN & ICCN 2012). Unmonitored fishing and bushmeat hunting are common at the site (Inogwabini et al. 2007). The Bateke people inhabiting the Malebo area believe that bonobos are their ancestors, and therefore a traditional taboo prevents them from hunting bonobos (Inogwabini et al. 2007).

Table 3. Threats to apes reported for Lac Tumba landscape

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)	Unplanned and unsustainable subsistence agricultural practices (Inogwabini et al. 2007).	Ongoing (2007)
5 Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	High (more than 70% of population affected)	Poaching is facilitated by increasing availability of weapons and ammunition and the location of the area at the junction of major river routes (Inogwabini et al. 2007, IUCN & ICCN 2012).	Ongoing (2012)
5 Biological resource use	5.3 Logging & wood harvesting	High (more than 70% of population affected)	Legal and illegal industrial logging. Easy river access is used for transportation of timber to Kinshasa (IUCN & ICCN 2012). Logging for the wenge Mellitia laurenti (Inogwabini et al. 2007).	Ongoing (2012)
4 Transportation & service corridors	4.1 Roads & railroads	Low (up to 30% of population affected)	Development of communications infrastructure (roads, railways) (IUCN & ICCN 2012).	Ongoing (2012)
8 Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseases	8.4 Pathogens	Present (unknown severity)	Threat of disease (IUCN & ICCN 2012).	Ongoing (2012)
1 Residential & commercial development		Unknown
3 Energy production & mining		Unknown
6 Human intrusions & disturbance		Unknown
7 Natural system modifications		Unknown
9 Pollution		Unknown
11 Climate change & severe weather		Unknown

IUCN Threats list

Conservation activities

The landscape is a priority conservation landscape funded by the Central African Regional Programme for the Environment of the US Agency for International Development through the International Congo Basin Forest Partnership. The site was selected as a priority conservation site in 2000 (Inogwabini et al. 2007).

Challenges

Table 5. Challenges reported for Lac Tumba landscape

Challenges	Specific challenges	Source	Year(s)
4 Institutional support	4.1 Lack of law enforcement	IUCN & ICCN 2012
4 Institutional support	4.2 Lack of government support	IUCN & ICCN 2012
3 Engaged community	3.1 General lack of community engagement or support	IUCN & ICCN 2012
	Other (Insufficient subsistence alternatives)	IUCN & ICCN 2012

Enablers

Table 6. Enablers reported for Lac Tumba landscape

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

Preliminary bonobo and chimpanzee nesting by habitat type in the northern Lac Tumba Landscape, Democratic Republic of Congo

Documented behaviours

Table 7. Behaviours documented for Lac Tumba landscape

Behavior	Source
Not reported

External links

WWF Lac Tumba Landscape

References

WWF (n.d.). Lac Tumba. Online: https://www.wwfdrc.org/en/our_work/landscapes/lac_tumba_landscape/

Inogwabini, B. I., Matungila, B., Mbende, L., Abokome, M., & wa Tshimanga, T. (2007). Great apes in the Lake Tumba landscape, Democratic Republic of Congo: newly described populations. Oryx, 41(4), 532-538.

IUCN & ICCN (2012). Bonobo (Pan paniscus): Conservation Strategy 2012–2022. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN/SSC Primate

Spécialist Group & Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature. 65 pp

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