Afi River Forest Reserve

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Summary

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• Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes ellioti) & Cross river gorillas (Gorilla gorilla diehli) are present in Afi River Forest Reserve.
• The population sizes are unknown.
• The great ape population trend is unknown.

Site characteristics

Table 1. Basic site information for Afi River Forest Reserve

Species	'Pan troglodytes ellioti, Gorilla gorilla diehli
Area	312 km²
Coordinates	Lat: 6.198033916291155 , Lon: 8.97788933605928
Type of site	Protected area (Forest Reserve)
Habitat types	Subtropical/tropical moist montane forest
Type of governance	Governance by government

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Ape status

Table 2. Ape population estimates reported for Afi River Forest Reserve

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
'Gorilla gorilla diehli	2008	Absent				Afi River Forest Reserve	Reconnaissance walk		Imong 2008
'Pan troglodytes ellioti	2008	Absent				Afi River Forest Reserve	Reconnaissance walk		Imong 2008

Threats

Table 3. Threats to apes reported for Afi River Forest Reserve

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Description	Year of threat
2 Agriculture & aquaculture	2.1.2 Small-holder farming	High (more than 70% of population affected)	From a survey done in 2008, 244 farms were observed. Farm sizes varied ranging from as small as 15 m² to as large as ten hectares (Imong & Wood 2008).	2008-Ongoing (2024)
5 Biological resource use	5.3 Logging & wood harvesting	High (more than 70% of population affected)	Evidence of past and ongoing logging was encountered throughout one of the surveys conducted. A total of 3,671 pieces of timber were counted during the survey (Imong & Wood 2008) Reporters visited in August 2021 and observed several trucks loading logged timber day and night in and near ARFR. Due to the high demand for timber products especially in urban areas, deforestation has ravaged many areas of the reserve (Orji, S. 2021).	2008-Ongoing (2021)
7 Natural system modifications	7.1 Fire & fire suppression	High (more than 70% of population affected)	Large areas have been subject to dry-season bush fires, including a severe one in 1989 (BirdLife International. 2024). In 2021 ARFR experienced fires according to data that was provided by NASA. This was the highest fire activity in years (Orji, S. 2021).	1989, 2002, 2021
4 Transportation & service corridors	4.1 Roads & railroads	High (more than 70% of population affected)	Transportation and service corridors in some of the areas of the reserve have been seen. It is slow but with significant deterioration (BirdLife International. 2024). The Ikom-Obudu highway passes through the Afi River Forest Reserve that acts as a corridor connecting Mbe Mountain and Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary (Obeten et al. 2024).	Ongoing (2024)
8 Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseases	8.4 Pathogens	Low (up to 30% of population affected)	With humans, domesticated animals and gorillas living close together due to encroachment, there is a high risk of pathogens and parasites spreading to the gorillas. The small size of the Cross River gorilla populations makes them extremely vulnerable to the effects of introduced pathogens, and virulent infections could effectively eliminate them (Oates et.al 2007).	Ongoing (2007)
5 Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	Medium (30-70% of population affected)	Hunting signs were recorded at 0.66 per km in a survey done in 2008. Few hunting trails and hunters were encountered during the survey. The reasons given that could explain the few encounters could be that levels of wildlife abundance is so low, and that hunting was done mostly at night when the survey team did not collect data (Imong & Wood 2008). Despite the numerous conservation efforts in the Afi, Mbe, and Okwango areas poaching activities are still being done because the income made from poaching is much better than the alternative provided for hunters (Abere et al. 2016).	2008-Ongoing (2016)

IUCN Threats list

Conservation activities

Table 4. Conservation activities reported for Afi River Forest Reserve

Category	Specific activity	Description	Implementing organization(s)	Year of activity
2 Counter-wildlife crime	2.3 Conduct regular anti-poaching patrols	They do patrols but they haven't been as effective due to lack of sufficient funding for rangers that ought to be on patrols and lack of mobility (vehicles to conduct these patrols effectively). There is no great support from the government either (Orji, S. 2021).	Cross River State Forestry Commission	Ongoing (2021)
4 Education & awareness	4.1 Educate local communities about apes and sustainable use	WCS implements conservation education activities to control the forest behavior of people in the communities in the cross-river state. Evaluation (Obeten et al. 2024) has shown that the more environmental awareness is for the community, the more they tend to promote forest conservation.	WCS Nigeria	Ongoing (2024)
5 Protection & restoration	5.10 Use prescribed burning within the context of home range size and use	The government and NGOs have implemented measures to reduce logging and restrict bush burning in rural communities (Obeten et al. 2024).	Cross River Government and WCS Nigeria	Ongoing (2024)

Conservation activities list (Junker et al. 2017)

Challenges

Table 5. Challenges reported for Afi River Forest Reserve

Challenges	Specific challenges	Source	Year(s)
1 Site management	1.1 Need for improved leadership	Imong & Wood 2008	Ongoing (2008)
4 Institutional support	4.1 Lack of law enforcement	Imong & Wood 2008	Ongoing (2008)
2 Resources and capacity	2.4 Lack of continuous/long-term funding	Orji 2021	Ongoing (2021)
1 Site management	1.4 Conflict on land tenure	Orji 2021	Ongoing (2021)
2 Resources and capacity	2.2 Lack of staff	Edet et al. 2017	Ongoing (2021)
4 Institutional support	4.2 Lack of government support	Orji 2021	Ongoing (2021)

Documented behaviours

Table 7. Behaviours documented for Afi River Forest Reserve

Behavior	Source
Not reported

References

Imong, I and Wood, K.L (2008). Unpublished Report on Wildlife and Habitat Assessment Survey of the Afi River Forest Reserve, Cross River State, Nigeria. Cross River State Forestry Commission, Wildlife Conservation Society, Pandrillus, Fauna and Flora International, and Nigerian Conservation Foundation. Abo, Nigeria.

Oates, J.F., Sunderland-Groves, J., Bergl, R.A., Dunn, A., Nicholas, N., Takang, E., Imong, I., & Fotso, R. 2007. Regional Action Plan for the Conservation of the Cross River Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli). IUCN Primate Specialist Group/Conservation International, Washington D.C.

Aigbe, H.I., Akindele, S.O., Onyekwelu, J.C. (2014). Tree Species Diversity And Density Pattern In Afi River Forest Reserve, Nigeria. International Journal of Scientific and Technology Research. 3. 178-185.

BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Afi River Forest Reserve (Nigeria). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/afi-river-forest-reserve-iba-nigeria on 28/11/2024.

Abere, S., Lateef, F. and Lameed, G. (2016) Assessment of Hunters and Other Rate of Illegal Activities in Afi-Mbe-Okwango Division, Cross River State, Nigeria. Natural Resources, 7, 287-294. doi: 10.4236/nr.2016.75025.

Orji, S. (2021). Deforestation soars in Nigeria’s gorilla habitat: ‘We are running out of time. Mongabay. https://news.mongabay.com/2021/10/deforestation-soars-in-nigerias-gorilla-habitat-we-are-running-out-of-time/ on 28/11/2024.

Edet, D., Nchor, A., and Ekpe, A. (2017). Appraisal of Personnel Strength and Quality in Cross River State Forestry Commission, Cross River State, Nigeria. Nigerian Journal of Agriculture, Food and Environment. 13. 179-185.

Orji, S. (2023). Elephants invade as habitat loss soars in Nigerian forest reserve. Mongabay.

https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/elephants-invade-as-habitat-loss-soars-in-nigerian-forest-reserve/ on 30/11/2024.

Okafor, N. (2024). Conservation of the Endangered Grey Parrot and Birds of Conservation Concern in Afi River Forest Reserve, Nigeria: Population Status and Conservation Campaign. The Rufford Foundation.

https://www.rufford.org/projects/ngozi-okafor/conservation-endangered-grey-parrot-and-birds-conservation-concern-afi-river-forest-reserve-nigeria-population-status-and-conservation-campaign/ on 30/11/2024.

Obeten, U. B., Ayua, A. B., Aneshie, N. L., Etta, A. C., Obun, E. M., Ojong, A. A., ... & Onnoghen, U. N. (2024). Wildlife conservation society’s activities and biodiversity conservation in protected areas in cross river state, Nigeria. Journal for Nature Conservation, 78, 126575.

Page created by: Priscilla Stanley Shao Date: 2024-11-28 08:27:00