Afi River Forest Reserve

West Africa > Nigeria > 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 absent in Afi River Forest Reserve.
• Great apes have not been observed in the area for several years.
• The great ape population trend is unknown.
• The area is severely degraded, but it is still considered important for maintaining connectivity between Afi Mountain Wildlife Reserve and Cross River National Park.

Site characteristics

Table 1. Basic site information for Afi River Forest Reserve

Species	Pan troglodytes ellioti, Gorilla gorilla diehli
Area	312 km²
Coordinates	Lat: 6.33 , Lon: 8.97
Type of site	Protected area (Forest Reserve)
Habitat types	Subtropical/tropical moist montane forest, Subtropical/tropical heavily degraded former forest, Agricultural land
Type of governance	Governance by government

Types of sites Governance types Habitat types

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

Sampling methods Analytical frameworks

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)	In a 2008 survey, 244 farms were observed. Farm size ranged from 15 m² to ten hectares (Imong & Wood 2008). Agriculture is linked to fires and forest loss in the area; cocoa farms are present in and around the reserve (Orji 2021).	2008-Ongoing (2021)
2 Agriculture & aquaculture	2.1.1 Shifting agriculture	High (more than 70% of population affected)	In a 2008 survey, 244 farms were observed. Farm size ranged from 15 m² to ten hectares (Imong & Wood 2008). Agriculture is linked to fires and forest loss in the area; cocoa farms are present in and around the reserve (Orji 2021).	2008-Ongoing (2021)
4 Transportation & service corridors	4.1 Roads & railroads	Low (up to 30% of population affected)	Reported by BirdLife International in 2021 (2024). The connection between Afi and Mbe Mountains was to some extent weakened by the creation of a paved highway to link Ikom and Obudu (Imong & Wood 2008).	2008-Ongoing (2021)
5 Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	High (more than 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). Poaching in and around the site continues to be a threat (Orji 2021).	2008-Ongoing (2021)
5 Biological resource use	5.3.1 Subsistence logging	High (more than 70% of population affected)	Evidence of past and ongoing logging was encountered throughout the site during a 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 2021).	2008-Ongoing (2021)
5 Biological resource use	5.3.2 Commercial logging	High (more than 70% of population affected)	There are two concession areas in the north and south of the reserve (BirdLife International 2024)	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 severe fires (Orji 2021).	1989, 2002, 2021
3 Energy production & mining	3.2 Mining & quarrying	Present (unknown severity)	Quarries were reported in a 2008 survey (Imong & Wood 2008).	Ongoing (2008)

Threats

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	Patrols are implemented but there is a lack of funding for rangers that ought to be on patrols and lack vehicles to conduct these patrols effectively (Orji 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. Evaluations have shown that the more environmental awareness is for the community, the more they tend to promote forest conservation (Obeten et al. 2024).	Wildlife Conservation Society Nigeria	Ongoing (2024)
5 Protection & restoration	5.2 Legally protect ape habitat	The site is a forest reserve.		Ongoing (2024)

Conservation activities

Challenges

Table 5. Challenges reported for Afi River Forest Reserve

Challenges	Specific challenges	Source	Year(s)
1 Site management	1.4 Conflict on land tenure	Orji 2021	Ongoing (2021)
2 Resources and capacity	2.2 Lack of staff	Orji 2021	Ongoing (2021)
2 Resources and capacity	2.3 General lack of funding	Orji 2021	Ongoing (2021)
4 Institutional support	4.1 Lack of law enforcement	Imong & Wood 2008, Orji 2021	2008-Ongoing (2021)
4 Institutional support	4.2 Lack of government support	Orji 2021	Ongoing (2021)

Challenges

Documented behaviours

Table 7. Behaviours documented for Afi River Forest Reserve

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

Behaviours

Exposure to climate change impacts

As part of a study on the exposure of African great ape sites to climate change impacts, Kiribou et al. subm. extracted climate data and data on projected extreme climate impact events for the site. Climatological characteristics were derived from observation-based climate data provided by the Inter-Sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project (ISIMIP, www.isimip.org). Parameters were calculated as the average across each 30-year period. For 1981-2010, the EWEMBI dataset from ISIMIP2a was used. For the two future periods (2021-2050 and 2071-2099) ISIMIP2b climate data based on four CMIP5 global climate models were used. For future projections, two Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) were used. RCP 2.6 is a scenario with strong mitigation measures in which global temperatures would likely rise below 2C. RCP 6.0 is a scenario with medium emissions in which global temperatures would likely rise up to 3C by 2100. For the number of days with heavy precipitation events, the 98th percentile of all precipitation days (>1mm/d) was calculated for the 1979-2013 reference period as a threshold for a heavy precipitation event. Then, for each year, the number of days above that threshold was derived. The figures on temperature and precipitation anomaly show the deviation from the mean temperature and mean precipitation for the 1979-2013 reference period.

The estimated exposure to future extreme climate impact events (crop failure, drought, river flood, wildfire, tropical cyclone, and heatwave) is based on a published dataset by Lange et al. 2020 derived from ISIMIP2b data. The same global climate models and RCPs as described above were used. Within each 30-year period, the number of years with an extreme event and the average proportion of the site affected were calculated (see Kiribou et al. subm. for details).

Table 8. Estimated past and projected climatological characteristics in Afi River Forest Reserve

Value	1981-2010	2021-2050, RCP 2.6	2021-2050, RCP 6.0	2071-2099, RCP 2.6	2071-2099, RCP 6.0
Mean temperature [C]	26.6	27.7	27.5	27.8	28.9
Annual precipitation [mm]	2070	2193	2214	2187	2172
Max no. consecutive dry days (per year)	40.9	41.8	44.5	43	48.4
No. days with heavy precipitation (per year)	4.8	4.9	5.5	5.3	6.6

Table 9. Projected exposure of apes to extreme climate impact events in Afi River Forest Reserve

Type	No. of years with event (2021-2050, RCP 2.6)	% of site exposed (2021-2050, RCP 2.6)	No. of years with event (2021-2050, RCP 6.0)	% of site exposed (2021-2050, RCP 6.0)	No. of years with event (2070-2099, RCP 2.6)	% of site exposed (2070-2099, RCP 2.6)	No. of years with event (2070-2099, RCP 6.0)	% of site exposed (2070-2099, RCP 6.0)
Crop failure	5	0.73	4.5	0.87	3	1.15	9.5	1.31
Drought	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Heatwave	7	100	7	100	4	100	6.5	100
River flood	2	5.48	2.5	6.43	2	4.39	3	5.65
Tropical cyclone	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Wildfire	30	0.61	30	0.61	29	0.59	29	0.62

External links

[KBA Afi River Forest Reserve]
[BirdLife International]

References

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

Imong, I., & 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.

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.

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/

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

Page updated by: APES Atlas Team Date: 2026-06-15