Boumba-Bek National Park
Central Africa > Cameroon > Boumba-Bek National Park
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Summary
- Central chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) and western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) are present in Boumba-Bek National Park.
- It has been estimated that 4,470 great apes occur in the site.
- The great ape population trend is stable.
- The site has a total size of 2,389 km².
- Poaching is a key threat to great apes in Boumba-Bek National Park.
- Conservation activities have focused on anti-poaching patrols and community forests.
Site characteristics
Boumba-Bek National Park is located in the southeastern corner of Cameroon, bordering Nki National Park. The site is situated between the rivers Boumba and Bek (BirdLife International 2020). With 254 species recorded, the park was designated an Important Bird Area in 2001 (BirdLife International 2020). The site is known to be very important for forest elephants, central chimpanzees, and western lowland gorillas. The forest has never been logged and is used by small numbers of Baka people (BirdLife International 2020). However, elephant poaching at the site is a major problem and has led to drastic declines in the elephant numbers (N'Goran 2017).
Table 1. Basic site information for Boumba-Bek National Park
| Species | Pan troglodytes troglodytes, Gorilla gorilla gorilla |
| Area | 2,389 km² |
| Coordinates | Lat: 2.986850 , Lon: 14.856464 |
| Type of site | Protected area (National Park) |
| Habitat types | Wetlands (lakes, rivers, streams, bogs, marshes), Subtropical/tropical moist lowland forest |
| Type of governance |
Types of sites Governance types Habitat types
Ape status
Although a relative and non-significant increase of the great ape population size was found between 2011 and 2015, the trend may be due to possible protocol errors or effects of conversion parameters (N'Goran et al. 2017).
Table 2. Ape population estimates reported for Boumba-Bek 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 troglodytes & Gorilla gorilla gorilla | 2012 | 1.60 (1.22-2.10) | 3,326 (2,530-4,373) | Boumba-Bek National Park | Line transects | CITES 2012 | Survey effort: 105.4 km | ||||
| Gorilla gorilla gorilla | 2012 | 1.18 (0.85-1.64) | 2459 (1,771-3,416) | Boumba-Bek National Park | Line transects | CITES 2012 | Survey effort: 105.4 km | ||||
| Pan troglodytes troglodytes | 2012 | 0.44 (0.32- 0.62) | 925 (662-1,291) | Boumba-Bek National Park | Line transects | CITES 2012 | Survey effort: 105.4 km | ||||
| Pan troglodytes troglodytes & Gorilla gorilla gorilla | 2011 | 3283 | Boumba-Bek National Park | Line transects & recces | N'Goran 2017 | ||||||
| Pan troglodytes troglodytes & Gorilla gorilla gorilla | 2015 | 4470 | Boumba-Bek National Park | Line transects & recces | N'Goran 2017 |
Sampling methods Analytical frameworks
Threats
Poaching is the main threat to wildlife at the site. Human sign encounter rates were found to be particularly high in the northern part of the park, which is closer to a public road (CITES 2012).
Table 3. Threats to apes reported for Boumba-Bek National Park
| Category | Specific threats | Threat level | Description | Year of threat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 Biological resource use | 5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals | Present (unknown severity) | Hunting paths and snares were encountered in a 2012 survey of the park (CITES 2012). Elephants at Boumba-Bek have been more impacted by poaching. | Ongoing (2012) |
| 5 Biological resource use | 5.2 Gathering terrestrial plants | Present (unknown severity) | Extraction of bark, honey, or palm wine (CITES 2012). | Ongoing (2012) |
Conservation activities
WWF and partners have supported the establishment of 42 community forests around Boumba Bek, Nki and Lobeke National Parks (WWF).
Table 4. Conservation activities reported for Boumba-Bek National Park
| Category | Specific activity | Description | Implementing organization(s) | Year of activity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 Protection & restoration | 5.2 Legally protect ape habitat | The National Park was established in 2005. | 2005-Ongoing (2021) | |
| 2 Counter-wildlife crime | 2.3 Conduct regular anti-poaching patrols | Anti-poaching patrols are conducted (CITES 2012). | Ongoing (2012) |
Challenges
Table 5. Challenges reported for Boumba-Bek National Park
| Challenges | Specific challenges | Source | Year(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Not reported |
Enablers
Table 6. Enablers reported for Boumba-Bek 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 |
Research activities
There are 16 forest clearings (bais) in Boumba-Bek, with four currently monitored by MINFOF/WWF for large mammal activities (Stiles 2011).
Maisels, F., Bechem, M., Blanc, J., Strindberg, S., Boafo, Y., Mahop, J.P., Mengamenya, A., Bariga, N., Luhunu, S., 2012a. Wildlife and Human Impact Survey in Boumba Bek National Park, Cameroon, p. 62. CITES MIKE.
Documented behaviours
Table 7. Behaviours documented for Boumba-Bek National Park
| Category | Behavior | Observation type | Prevalence | Observation dates | Source | Habituation | Species | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not reported |
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 Boumba-Bek National Park
| 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] | 23.8 | 25.3 | 25 | 25.4 | 26.5 |
| Annual precipitation [mm] | 1564 | 1600 | 1632 | 1644 | 1628 |
| Max no. consecutive dry days (per year) | 24.1 | 22 | 24 | 18.7 | 22.6 |
| No. days with heavy precipitation (per year) | 6.6 | 9.4 | 9.3000000000000007 | 9.1999999999999993 | 10.8 |
Table 9. Projected exposure of apes to extreme climate impact events in Boumba-Bek National Park
| 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 | 14 | 0 | 5.5 | 0 | 16.5 | 0 | 20 | 0 |
| Drought | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.25 | 25 |
| Heatwave | 1.5 | 100 | 0 | 0 | 2.5 | 100 | 6 | 100 |
| River flood | 0 | 0 | 0.25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tropical cyclone | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wildfire | 30 | 0.6 | 30 | 0.64 | 29 | 0.44 | 29 | 0.65 |
External links
References
CITES. (2012). Monitoring of Illegal Trade in Ivory and Other Elephant Specimens. Wildlife and Human Impact Survey 201, Boumba Bek National Park, Republic of Cameroon. Geneva, Switzerland: CITES.
BirdLife International (2020) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Boumba - Bek. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 31/12/2020.
Stiles, D. (2011). Elephant Meat Trade in Central Africa: Summary report. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN. 103pp.
Page created by: APES Atlas Team Date: 2021-01-08