Protected Areas/Sanctuaries

There are many endangered species that are native to the Lebialem Highlands, many of which have the same threats and issues that need to be faced.

One key issue is the removal of wildlife corridors for species to freely and safely interact with each other and their habitats, to produce a more established and genetically diverse ecosystem.

A solution to this is to create more protected areas and wildlife sanctuaries in these areas to allow for species to once again thrive in the native habitats.

Areas such as the; Kagwene Gorilla Sanctuary, Mawambi Hills, Mbulu Forest, Mone River Forest reserve, Takamanda national park and Tofala Hills Wildlife Sanctuary are just some examples of these areas that are set up to preserve the natural fauna and flora.

Did you know?

Rainforests absorb 30% of the world's carbon dioxide emissions each year and act as crucial global carbon sinks, slowing down the effects of climate change by storing carbon dioxide in trees.

This process is called carbon sequestration.

The sanctuaries mentioned above, together hold between 132-194 individuals of the Cross River Gorilla species with around 20-30 of these being native to the Tofala Hills Wildlife Sanctuary alone (approximately 10% of the total known population!).

These areas clearly act as important strongholds for these great apes, especially Tofala Hills which is located 40km away from the nearest Cross River Gorilla locality in the Mone River Forest Reserve.

Gorilla hunting is also banned within these areas, with rangers and volunteers from non-governmental organisations such as ERuDeF helping to enforce such restrictions - something which has been proven difficult due to the ongoing humanitarian crisis.

Did you know?

The Tofala Hills Wildlife Sanctuary is not just a Gorilla stronghold, but also is home to 355 different bird species, 50 of which are endemic to the afro-montane highlands and 15 of which are classified as globally threatened species.

As the rainforest is at increasing threat to logging and losing coverage of the overall forest area, these sanctuaries prove to be more and more important to the species which inhabitat them.

Many areas just outside the sanctuary boundaries have been lost, causing further wildlife corridors to be destroyed and placing increased importance of these sanctuaries survival that now hold valuable genetics of many endangered species.

Despite all of this increased importance however, corruption and lack of governmental support proves to be a major challenge when referring to the creation and maintenance of such protected areas.

This means that attempts to preserve wildlife are often lacking in substance, leaving many species to be at further risk.