Mount Cameroon National Park

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Summary

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Leaflet

• Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes ellioti) & Cross river gorillas (Gorilla gorilla diehli) are present in Mount Cameroon National Park.
• It has been estimated that 130 (79-215) chimpanzees occur in the site; the gorilla population size is unknown.
• The chimpanzee population trend is stable.
• The site has a total size of 581.78 km².
• Key threats to great apes are hunting and logging.
• Conservation activities have focused on community-based projects, eco-tourism and biomonitoring.
• At 4,070 m in altitude, Mount Cameroon is the highest peak in sub-Saharan western and central Africa.

Site characteristics

Established in 2009, Mt. Cameroon National Park lies near the coast, in western Cameroon (Eno-Nku 2013). Harboring a very rich and diverse flora and fauna, the site is part of a biodiversity hotspot in the Gulf of Guinea Forests (MNCP). Reaching 4,070 m in altitude, Mount Cameroon, also known as Mount Fako, is an active volcano and the highest peak in West and Central Africa, as well as the fourth most prominent peak in Africa (MNCP). The western slope of the park is one of the wettest places in the world, with 10,000 mm rainfall (MNCP). The park is home to forest elephants, chimpanzees, drills, and over 330 bird species, including two endemic species, the Mt. Cameroon francolin, Pternistis camerunensis and Mt. Cameroon speirops, Zosterops melanocephalus (WWF).

Table 1. Basic site information for Mount Cameroon National Park

Species	'Pan troglodytes ellioti
Area	581.78 km²
Coordinates	Lat: 4.218726 , Lon: 9.146500
Type of site	Protected area (National Park)
Habitat types	Subtropical/tropical dry forest, Grassland, Subtropical/tropical moist montane forest
Type of governance

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Ape status

A survey in 2013 estimated an abundance of 130 (95% CI: 79-215) chimpanzees; nests and signs of gorillas were not found (Eno-Nku 2013). Based on the 2013 estimates together with results from a 2007 survey, the chimpanzee population appears to be stable (Eno-Nku 2013).

Table 2. Ape population estimates reported for Mount Cameroon National Park

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 ellioti	2007			0.47 (0.17-0.136)		Mt. Cameroon proposed National Park	Line transects		Eno-Nku 2013
Pan troglodytes ellioti	2013		1.21	0.67 (0.41-1.11)	130 (79-215)	Mt. Cameroon National Park, excluding southwest block	Line transects		Eno-Nku 2013

Threats

Main threats to great apes include hunting and logging. Encounter rate (nests/km)s of human pressure threats within the park decreased between 2007 and 2013 (Eno-Nku 2013).

Table 3. Threats to apes reported for Mount Cameroon National Park

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Description	Year of threat
10 Geological events		Absent
12 Other threat		Absent
5 Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	High (more than 70% of population affected)	Signs of snares, gun shells, gun shots, hunting trails had the highest encounter rate for human activities (Eno-Nku 2013).	Ongoing (2013)
5 Biological resource use	5.3 Logging & wood harvesting	High (more than 70% of population affected)		Ongoing (2013)
2 Agriculture & aquaculture	2.1 Annual & perennial non-timber crops	Present (unknown severity)	Agricultural encroachment (Eno-Nku 2013).	Ongoing (2013)
1 Residential & commercial development		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
9 Pollution		Unknown
11 Climate change & severe weather		Unknown

IUCN Threats list

Conservation activities

The National park is working with Village Forest Management Committees (VFMCs) of the 41 communities around the park. These communities have been regrouped into clusters. Each cluster has a cluster facilitator, a person who maintains communication between the park and the cluster. Inside the National Park territory each cluster is co-responsible for the management of a “Cluster Conservation Zone” (MNCP). On half-yearly cluster platform meetings representatives of the VFMCs plan and agree on co-management activities (e.g. boundary opening and monitoring activities), and evaluate past performance (MCNP). The communities equally receive a conservation bonus, depending on their performance in co-management activities and the occurrence of illegal activities in their cluster conservation zone. The conservation bonus is used to sponsor small community projects. The National park is managing the Non-Timber Forest Product (NTFP) of ``Prunus Africana`` bark in a sustainable way. Local communities insisted on further exploitation of the Prunus Resource as a user right during the process leading to the creation of Mt. Cameroon National Park. Mount Cameroon hosts one of the largest populations of ``Prunus africana`` in Cameroon. The tree is occurring mainly in the mountain forest close to the border of the savannah. The Prunus bark is used as traditional medicine and since the 1970s in the pharmaceutical industry in Europe to treat benign prostate (MNCP).

Table 4. Conservation activities reported for Mount Cameroon National Park

Category	Specific activity	Description	Implementing organization(s)	Year of activity
2 Counter-wildlife crime	2.3 Conduct regular anti-poaching patrols	Eco-guards patrol park (MCNP).		Ongoing
2 Counter-wildlife crime	2.11 Implement monitoring surveillance strategies (e.g., SMART) or use monitoring data to improve effectiveness of patrols	Regular wildlife surveys are conducted (MCNP).		Ongoing
5 Protection & restoration	5.2 Legally protect ape habitat	The park was established in 2009.		Ongoing
8 Permanent presence	8.2 Run tourist projects and ensure permanent human presence at site	The park has authorized local tour operators and activities such as trekking, bird watching and viewing wildlife (MCNP).		Ongoing

Conservation activities list (Junker et al. 2017)

Challenges

Table 5. Challenges reported for Mount Cameroon National Park

Challenges	Specific challenges	Source	Year(s)
	Not reported

Enablers

Table 6. Enablers reported for Mount Cameroon National Park

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 Mount Cameroon National Park

Behavior	Source
Not reported

External links

Mount Cameroon National Park - Official Website)

References

Mount Cameroon National Park. (n.d.). Mount Cameroon National Park. https://www.mtcameroonnationalpark.org/

Mt Cameroon National Park (58,154 ha). (n.d.). WWF. https://cameroon.panda.org/places_landscapes/coastal_forests_programme/mt_cameroon_national_park/

Eno-Nku, M. (2013). Large mammal surveys of the Mt. Cameroon National Park, SW Region. WWF CCPO Coastal Forest Programme, Limbe, Cameroon.

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