Messok Dja

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Summary

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• Central chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) and western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) are present in Messok Dja.
• It has been estimated that 2,938 chimpanzees and gorillas occur in the site.
• The great ape population trend is stable.
• The site has a total size of 1,500 km².
• Key threats to great apes are poaching, the spread of artisanal and semi-industrial mining, and illegal logging.
• Conservation activities have not been documented.
• Messok Dja is part of the Tri-National Dja-Odzala-Minkebe (TRIDOM) landscape.

Site characteristics

The site is located in northwestern Republic of Congo. Messok Dja is part of the Tri-National Dja-Odzala-Minkebe (TRIDOM) landscape, one of the most intact forest blocks remaining in the Congo Basin. A biodiversity survey by WWF found the dense forest in Messok Dja to be an important migration corridor for animals between National Parks in Cameroon and Republic of Congo (WWF 2018). Indigenous people, especially the Baka, depend on the Messok Dja forest for food, medicine, housing, and more. Messok Dja forest is currently part of two commercial logging operations (WWF 2018).

Table 1. Basic site information for Messok Dja

Species	'Pan troglodytes troglodytes, Gorilla gorilla gorilla
Area	1,500 km²
Coordinates	Lat: 2.029165 , Lon: 14.532618
Type of site	Non-protected area
Habitat types	Subtropical/tropical moist lowland forest
Type of governance

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Ape status

Table 2. Ape population estimates reported for Messok Dja

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 troglodytes & Gorilla gorilla gorilla	2013				2,190	Messok Dja forest	Line transects		N'Goran 2017
'Pan troglodytes troglodytes & Gorilla gorilla gorilla	2016				2,938	Messok Dja forest	Line transects		N'Goran 2017
'Gorilla gorilla gorilla	2013		0.4	0.7 (0.50-1.22)	1.165	Messok Dja forest	Line transects & recces	Distance sampling	Mantsila, 2013
'Pan troglodytes troglodytes	2013			0.39 (0.23-0.65)	595	Messok Dja forest	Line transects & recces	Distance sampling	Mantsila, 2013

Threats

Poaching, the spread of artisanal and semi-industrial gold mining and illegal logging are important threats in the Messok Dja forest. The discovery of iron deposits across the region and the planned development of the Chollet hydropower dam in the Dja river also pose additional pressures (WWF 2019).

Table 3. Threats to apes reported for Messok Dja

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Description	Year of threat
9 Pollution		Absent
10 Geological events		Absent
12 Other threat		Absent
5 Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	Low (up to 30% of population affected)		2013-Ongoing (2017)
5 Biological resource use	5.3 Logging & wood harvesting	Medium (30-70% of population affected)	The indicators of human presence found in the area are mainly related to forestry activities (counting and logging) rather than hunting (Mantsila 2013)	Ongoing (2013)
1 Residential & commercial development		Unknown
2 Agriculture & aquaculture		Unknown
3 Energy production & mining		Unknown
4 Transportation & service corridors		Unknown
6 Human intrusions & disturbance		Unknown
7 Natural system modifications		Unknown
8 Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseases		Unknown
11 Climate change & severe weather		Unknown

IUCN Threats list

Challenges

Table 5. Challenges reported for Messok Dja

Challenges	Specific challenges	Source	Year(s)
1 Site management	1.1 Need for improved leadership	Mantsila, 2013	Ongoing (2013)
2 Resources and capacity	2.1 Lack of capacity/training	Mantsila, 2013	Ongoing (2013)
2 Resources and capacity	2.3 General lack of funding	Mantsila, 2013	Ongoing (2013)
2 Resources and capacity	2.6 Lack of biomonitoring/survey data	Mantsila, 2013	Ongoing (2013)
4 Institutional support	4.3 Lack of protected area status	Mantsila, 2013	Ongoing (2013)

Enablers

Table 6. Enablers reported for Messok Dja

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

Documented behaviours

Table 7. Behaviours documented for Messok Dja

Behavior	Source
Not reported

References

N'Goran, K.P. (2017). Summary Report on WWF BIOMONITORING activities from 2014 to 2016 Status of Forest Elephant and Great Apes in Central Africa Priority Sites.

WWF. (2018). Decoding Conservation: How the lands and ecosystems that wildlife and communities depend upon are protected. Retrieved from: https://wwf.panda.org/discover/our_focus/forests_practice/forest_publications_news_and_reports/?339714/Decoding-Conservation-How-the-lands-and-ecosystems-that-wildlife-and-communities-depend-upon-are-protected

WWF. (2019). Republic of Congo: Engaging communities in the future of Messok Dja. Retrieved from: https://wwf.panda.org/discover/our_focus/forests_practice/forest_publications_news_and_reports/?356639/Republic-of-Congo-Engaging-communities-in-the-future-of-Messok-Dja

Mantsila G. M. (2013). Recensement et distribution des grands mammifères de la forêt Messok-Dja (Sembe-nord Gongo). WWF, 32p.

Page created by: A.P.E.S. Wiki Team Date: 2020-12-06

Page updated by: Diorne Zausa Date: 2024-11-30