Summary

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Bonobos (Pan paniscus) are present in Iyondji Community Bonobo Reserve.
The population size is unknown.
The bonobo population trend is unknown.
The site has a total size of 1,100 km².
Bonobos at the site are mainly threatened by poaching.
Conservation interventions have focused on anti-poaching activities, including patrols, removal of snares, and inspecting markets.

Site characteristics

Iyondji Community Bonobo Reserve (ICBR), established in 2012, is located in one of the four bonobo strongholds, i.e. the northern block, Maringa-Lopori-Wamba Landscape (Bonobo Conservation Action Plan, 2012-2022, IUCN) and encompasses approximately 1,100 km² of tropical moist forest that harbors bonobos (Pan paniscus). With the Luo Scientific Reserve and Kokolopori Bonobo Reserve, ICBR contributes to a contiguous 5,627 m² bonobo conservation stronghold.

Table 1. Basic site information for Iyondji Community Bonobo Reserve

Species	Pan paniscus
Area	1,100 km²
Coordinates	Lat: 0.07 , Lon: 22.87
Type of site	Protected area (Forest Reserve)
Habitat types	Subtropical/tropical moist lowland forest, Subtropical/tropical swamp forest
Type of governance

Types of sites Governance types Habitat types

Iyondji Community Bonobo Reserve and detected points of bonobos in the northern part © Tetsuya Sakamaki and Phila Kasa Levo
Board of Iyondji Community Bonobo Reserve and a ranger © Tetsuya Sakamaki and Phila Kasa Levo

Ape status

We set up a study site of bonobos in 2010 and habituated two bonobo communities by 2016 in the northern part of ICBR. We confirmed at least four groups at the study site. Although there are bonobos in the middle part, they are unknown. The survival of individuals may be at stake in the southern parts (Sakamaki & Kasalevo pers. comm. 2020)

Table 2. Ape population estimates reported for Iyondji Community Bonobo 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 paniscus	2010-2016	Present				Iyondji Community Bonobo Reserve	Unknown			Habituation efforts confirmed the presence of bonobos; total abundance is unknown.

Sampling methods Analytical frameworks

Threats

Temporary hunting and gathering camps, and small hamlets with cassava fields were present within the ICBR. Approximately 10 people lived in a hamlet. According to the villagers, people lived in the forest permanently, and some of their children had never been to the villages along the established roads where there were schools and dispensaries. This situation was, in part, the result of the DRC civil war in the 1990s (Nackoney et al. 2014). Although villagers hunted primarily for their own consumption prior to the civil war, during the warfare the trucking and shipping transportation network collapsed, and the villagers were left with no means of selling cash crops such as coffee beans. As a result, the sale of bush meat became the primary way of earning cash.

Table 3. Threats to apes reported for Iyondji Community Bonobo Reserve

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Description	Year of threat
5 Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	Present (unknown severity)	Human presence in the southern part of the reserve (Nackoney et al. 2014).	Ongoing (2014)

Threats

Conservation activities

Table 4. Conservation activities reported for Iyondji Community Bonobo Reserve

Category	Specific activity	Year of activity
2 Counter-wildlife crime	2.11 Implement monitoring surveillance strategies (e.g., SMART) or use monitoring data to improve effectiveness of patrols	Ongoing (2019)
2 Counter-wildlife crime	2.3 Conduct regular anti-poaching patrols	Ongoing (2019)
2 Counter-wildlife crime	2.5 Inspect bushmeat markets for ape species	Ongoing (2019)
2 Counter-wildlife crime	2.6 Regularly de-activate/remove ground snares	Ongoing (2019)
2 Counter-wildlife crime	2.8 Provide training to anti-poaching ranger patrols	Ongoing (2019)

Conservation activities

Challenges

Table 5. Challenges reported for Iyondji Community Bonobo Reserve

Challenges	Specific challenges	Source
2 Resources and capacity	2.1 Lack of capacity/training	Sakamaki & Kasalevo pers. comm. 2020
2 Resources and capacity	2.3 General lack of funding	Sakamaki & Kasalevo pers. comm. 2020
1 Site management	1.2 Need for improved coordination	Sakamaki & Kasalevo pers. comm. 2020
2 Resources and capacity	2.5 Lack of equipment/transportation	Sakamaki & Kasalevo pers. comm. 2020

Challenges

Enablers

Table 6. Enablers reported for Iyondji Community Bonobo 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

Bonobo habituation has been conducted between 2010-2016 (Sakamaki et al. 2012). A census of diurnal monkeys and duikers was conducted in 2014 (Sakamaki et al. 2016).

Documented behaviours

Table 7. Behaviours documented for Iyondji Community Bonobo Reserve

Category	Behavior	Observation type	Prevalence	Observation dates	Source	Habituation	Species	Comment
	Hunting and meat eating				Sakamaki et al. 2016

Behaviours

Exposure to climate change impacts

Precipitation anomaly in Iyondji Community Bonobo Reserve
Temperature anomaly in Iyondji Community Bonobo Reserve

External links

References

Dupain, J., Fowler, A., Kasalevo, P., Sakamaki, T., Bongoli, L., Way, T., Williams, D., Furuichi, T. & Facheux, C. (2013). The Process of Creation of a New Protected Area in the Democratic Republic of Congo: The Case of the Iyondji Community Bonobo Reserve. Pan Africa News, 10(1), 10-13.

Nackoney, J., Molinario, G., Potapov, P., Turubanova, S., Hansen, M.C. & Furuichi, T. (2014). Impacts of civil conflict on primary forest habitat in northern Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1990–2010. Biol Conserv, 170, 321–328.

Sakamaki, T., Kasalevo, T., Bokamba, M.B. & Bongoli, L. (2012). Iyondji Community Bonobo Reserve: A Recently Established Reserve in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Pan Africa News, 19(2), 16-19.

Sakamaki, T., Maloueki, U., Bakaa, B., Bongoli, L., Kasalevo, P., Terada, S. & Furuichi, T. (2016). Mammals consumed by bonobos (Pan paniscus): new data from the Iyondji forest, Tshuapa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Primates, 57, 295–301.

Page created by: Tetsuya Sakamaki & Phila Kasalevo Date: 2020-11-15