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West Africa > Ghana > Bia Shelter Belt Forest Reserve

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Summary

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Western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) are present in Bia Shelter Belt Forest Reserve.
The population size is unknown.
The chimpanzee population trend is unknown.
The size of the site is 31.4 km².
Key threats to chimpanzees are poaching and logging.
Conservation activities have focused on education and patrols.

Site characteristics

Bia Shelter Belt Forest Reserve is a Tropical Semi-Deciduous Forest. It is home to pangolins, duikers, and monkeys, among other species. The area also has a good forest but exploitation of the Forest and other activities are reducing the status of the forest cover (Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023).

Table 1. Basic site information for Bia Shelter Belt Forest Reserve

Species	Pan troglodytes verus
Area	31.4 km²
Coordinates	Lat: 7.050600 , Lon: -2.695950
Type of site	Protected area (Forest Reserve)
Habitat types	Subtropical/tropical moist lowland forest
Type of governance

Types of sites Governance types Habitat types

Ape status

No recent survey has been conducted at the area but some farmers and hunters within the area claimed they have been spotting chimpanzees periodically in the Bia Shelter Belt Forest Reserve (Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023).

Table 2. Ape population estimates reported for Bia Shelter Belt 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
Pan troglodytes verus						Bia Shelter Belt Forest Reserve

Sampling methods Analytical frameworks

Threats

In the past, around the 1990s, threats were not very serious, but the threats to the forest are now increasing along with the human population increase, which leads to the higher demand for resources. Poaching threat is medium in the core area of the reserve and more severe closer to towns, villages and farms; illegal logging is severe all over the Reserve (Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023). Illegal logging and some periodic spot burnings occur in the reserve (Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023).

Table 3. Threats to apes reported for Bia Shelter Belt Forest Reserve

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Description	Year of threat
5 Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	Medium (30-70% of population affected)	Farmers and hunters get most of their livelihood from the Forest Reserve (Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023).	Ongoing (2023)
5 Biological resource use	5.3 Logging & wood harvesting	Present (unknown severity)	Present since 1980s but intensified from 2005 (Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023).	1980-2005
5 Biological resource use	5.3 Logging & wood harvesting	High (more than 70% of population affected)	Part of the area was under timber concession until 2019. Illegal logging and collection of forest products are still taking place and intensified since 2005 (Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023).	2005-Ongoing (2023)
7 Natural system modifications	7.1 Fire & fire suppression	Low (up to 30% of population affected)	Sometimes the forest catches fire and destroys part of the forest, which changes the structure of the forest (Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023).	Ongoing (2023)

Threats

Conservation activities

Forestry Commission staff undertake patrols within the forest and carry out conservation education in the communities on the best conservation practices. The Forestry Commission is making efforts to intensify protection by deploying reinforcement teams from Ghana Forest RAPID RESPONSE TEAMS to the area to support the protection of the forest (Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023).

Table 4. Conservation activities reported for Bia Shelter Belt Forest Reserve

Category	Specific activity	Description	Year of activity
2 Counter-wildlife crime	2.3 Conduct regular anti-poaching patrols	Wildlife staff and Forest Guards undertake patrols in the reserve to control illegalities (Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023).	Ongoing (2023)
4 Education & awareness	4.1 Educate local communities about apes and sustainable use	Conservation education is carried out by Wildlife staff (Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023).	Ongoing (2023)
5 Protection & restoration	5.2 Legally protect ape habitat		Ongoing (2026)
5 Protection & restoration	5.6 Habitat restoration	Enrichment planting is ongoing in the Forest Reserve and the trees are doing very well (Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023).	Ongoing (2023)

Conservation activities

Challenges

Restrictions into Forest Reserves are not the same as for National Parks and Resource reserves; as a result, illegal offtake control has not been so effective and the increase of population and demand for resources for their livelihood has made effective conservation difficult. Inadequate staffing, bad roads, little field equipment, no survey equipment, lack of vehicles, inadequate funding etc. hampers protection (Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023).

Table 5. Challenges reported for Bia Shelter Belt Forest Reserve

Challenges	Specific challenges	Source
1 Site management	1.2 Need for improved coordination	Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023
2 Resources and capacity	2.2 Lack of staff	Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023
3 Engaged community	3.1 General lack of community engagement or support	Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023
4 Institutional support	4.1 Lack of law enforcement	Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023

Challenges

Enablers

Table 6. Enablers reported for Bia Shelter Belt Forest Reserve

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

Enablers

Research activities

Periodic research by the Forestry Commission, NGOs and others take place in the Forest Reserve.

Documented behaviours

Table 7. Behaviours documented for Bia Shelter Belt Forest Reserve

Category	Behavior	Observation type	Prevalence	Observation dates	Source	Habituation	Species	Comment
	Not reported

Behaviours

Exposure to climate change impacts

External links

Ghana Forestry Commission

References

Page created by: Richard Ofori-Amanfo Date: 2023-11-09

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 * Key threats to chimpanzees are poaching and logging.
 * Conservation activities have focused on education and patrols.
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+|5 Biological resource use
+|5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals
+|Medium (30-70% of population affected)
+|Farmers and hunters get most of their livelihood from the Forest Reserve (Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023).
+|Ongoing (2023)
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 |5 Biological resource use
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 |Part of the area was under timber concession until 2019. Illegal logging and collection of forest products are still taking place and intensified since 2005 (Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023).
 |2005-Ongoing (2023)
-|-
-|5 Biological resource use
-|5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals
-|Medium (30-70% of population affected)
-|Farmers and hunters get most of their livelihood from the Forest Reserve (Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023).
-|Ongoing (2023)
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-|Ongoing (2023)
+|Ongoing (2026)
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-|2 Resources and capacity
+|1 Site management
-|2.2 Lack of staff
+|1.2 Need for improved coordination
 |Ofori-Amanfo pers. obs. 2023
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+|2 Resources and capacity
-|4.1 Lack of law enforcement
+|2.2 Lack of staff
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-|1 Site management
+|4 Institutional support
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