Country: Cameroon
Administrative region: Littoral (Region)
Central co-ordinates: 4.30970 N, 10.31670 E
Area: 1423km²
A(i)Site contains one or more globally threatened species
Ebo Forest qualifies as an Important Plant Area of Cameroon on the basis of nationally significant populations of globally threatened species and also the exceptional botanical diversity of the site, indicated by the large number of nationally endemic species. Although it has only recently and incompletely been surveyed, 78 globally threatened IUCN Red List species have been recorded at the site, representing over 10% of the Cameroon total. Of these, most qualify under TIPAS criterion A and 8 species are strictly endemic to the site.
Over 800 species (c. 10% of the Cameroonian flora) have been recorded from the area, with many more specimens awaiting identification. When more fully surveyed the area is likely to become one of the richest plant sites in Cameroon. Over 40 national endemics occur and a huge variety of socially, economically or culturally valuable species are used by local people. The site is also likely to qualify under criterion C as one of the country's best examples of coastal/Biafran lowland rainforest.
The Ebo forest in Littoral Region, Cameroon, covers c. 1,400 km² of evergreen lowland and submontane cloud forest along numerous low, parallel ridges between the Wouri and Sanaga rivers approximately 100 km from the coast. The suggested IPA site corresponds to the former proposed National Park and is centered around the confluence of the two branches of the Ebo river at approximately 4.3097 N,10.3167 E. From there the river flows SSW, bisecting the site. Small villages surround the Ebo forest populated by the Banen and Bassa peoples, and until the late 1950s and early 1960s there were several inhabited villages within the forest (Abwe & Morgan, 2008). The Ebo Forest Research Project (EFRP) has been working in the forest and with communities surrounding it since the important discovery in 2002 of a lowland Gorilla population in the forest. This population, possibly a unique subspecies, is isolated from other populations of both the Cross River Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli) and Western Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) (Oates et al 2003; Morgan, Wild and Ekobo 2003). The forest also harbours many other rare mammals, including one of the largest global surviving populations of both the drill, a Critically Endangered, range-restricted primate, and the rarest Chimpanzee subspecies, Pan troglodytes ellioti (Morgan et al 2013). The latter is uniquely known amongst Chimpanzees to use tools for both termite fishing and nut cracking (Abwe and Morgan, 2008). The forest is one of few classed as “exceptional priority” for Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzees by the IUCN-endorsed conservation action plan for the subspecies (Morgan et al 2011). It also constitutes nearly 50% of the Yabassi Key Biodiversity Area (BirdLife International, 2020). Botanically, the forest was hardly known until surveys in the early 21st century found it to be one of the richest and largest surviving intact areas of lowland and submontane forest in tropical Africa, harbouring many globally threatened and nationally endemic plant species (Cheek et al., 2018). These surveys have also revealed several species new to science.
Although located in the biologically important zone between the Cross and Sanaga rivers, which contains the highest plant species diversity per degree square in tropical Africa (Barthlott et al., 1999), the botanical significance of the Ebo forest has only become apparent to scientists in the twentieth-first century. Twentieth century collections were made by the botanists Leouzey and Leeuwenberg in the Yabassi-Yingui area but Ebo was almost completely unsurveyed for plants until 2004 when surveys were undertaken by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Herbier National du Cameroun, resulting in 2590 herbarium specimens. These collections suggest that diversity and endemism may be equivalent or even greater than that found at Kupe-Bakossi 100 km to the north where 82 endemic and 212 threatened species have been documented (Cheek et al., 2018). So far, surveying efforts have resulted in publication of sixteen new species to science discovered at Ebo, ranging from herbs and shrubs to canopy trees. Eight of these Ardisia ebo, Palisota ebo, Inversodicraea ebo, Kupeantha ebo, Crateranthus cameroonensis, Pseudohydrosme ebo, Uvariopsis dicaprio and Kupeantha yabassi are narrowly endemic to Ebo while two others have a slightly larger range but have also been named after the site: Gilbertiodendron ebo and Talbotiella ebo. Further new species to science remain to be published in the genera: Ardisia, Begonia, Chassalia, Cola, Justicia, Ledermanniella, Mitriostigma, Pavetta, Psychotria, Rhaptopetalum and Zenkerella (M. Cheek pers. comm., 2020). Many of these species are also so far endemic to Ebo or its immediate neighbourhood. Overall, the area is known to contain over 100 globally threatened species from the official IUCN Red List as well as several others that are Near Threatened, or provisionally threatened but awaiting formal IUCN assessment. In total, well over 800 species have already been recorded at Ebo, one tenth of the total Cameroon flora (Onana, 2011), and at least 40 species are nationally endemic.
The proposed area is important for both lowland evergreen moist tropical forest, containing species ranging from the spectacular and globally endemic herb Pseudohydrosme Ebo to the giant, Endangered timber tree Microberlinia bisulcata, as well as submontane cloud forest featuring rare endemics such as Uvariopsis dicaprio and Kupeantha ebo. In addition, small areas of deciduous forest occur on igneous outcrops, featuring species such as Ochna calodendron which is of traditional significance to local people. Important waterfall communities also exist within the area, such as that containing the globally endemic Inversodicraea ebo from one of the most threatened plant families in Africa (Cheek et al., 2017). These rare plants are likely to be particularly affected by any incursions in the forest area because of their sensitivity to water turbidity which can be caused by increased surface run-off associated with forest clearance.
Nearly all plant collecting has been in two small areas around the Bekob and Njuma camps; the rest of the site has hardly been explored botanically and likely contains much else that is worthy of scientific research.
The forest lies on ancient, highly weathered, basement complex rocks, with some ferralitic areas in the lower, flatter southern part (Cheek et al., 2018). The topology consists of numerous low parallel, ridges running SSW-NNE, parallel with the Cameroon Volcanic Line. Altitude ranges from c. 130 to 1,115 m, with the south flatter and lower than the northern part. There is a wet season from March until November with >100 mm precipitation. Rainfall has been measured at Bekob and Njuma within the proposed area at 2,336 and 3,135 mm p.a. respectively between 2010 and 2016 (Cheek et al., 2018). Mean annual temperature is 25–28 °C (Whytock et al., 2021). The Ebo river flows south through the site into the Dibamba river which joins the Cameroon estuary at Douala.
Ebo forest is a major part of the largest intact forest landscape in the important Cross-Sanaga-Bioko coastal forest ecoregion (Popatov et al., 2017; Grantham et al., 2020ab; Whytock et al., 2021). As well as the predominant evergreen, closed canopy lowland forest and submontane forest with Podocarpus latifolius, there are also areas of semi-deciduous woodland on inselbergs and waterfall communities. According to Letouzey's (1981) categorisation, the site consists mainly of variations on dense humid Atlantic Littoral forest (type 247), Atlantic Biafran forest (types 228, 235) and Atlantic Northwest forest with semi-deciduous elements (type 205), as well as some submontane forest (type 117). Varying abundances of "caesalpinioid" legume species and the presence of Sacoglottis gabonensis are used to define these variations.
The Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife (MINFOF) started the process of gazettement of this forest as a national park in 2006 following work by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Cameroon. The process had stalled, partly due to objections from local communities wary of losing traditional rights to the forest, when in March 2020 decrees (signed in February 2020) were unexpectedly revealed announcing that the area of the proposed National Park would instead be brought under two Forest Management Units (FMU) to be commercially exploited for timber. This would have seriously increased the danger to the majority of threatened plant species and made the continued long term survival of the important faunal populations untenable. The surprise development was also opposed by local villagers, this time in coalition with a range of local and international conservation organisations, resulting in the government revoking the concessions in August 2020 (Alberts, 2020; Cheek et al., 2021). The ultimate status of the forest remains undecided but conservation agencies have now forged a close working alliance with local villagers and are keenly aware that traditional access and use of the forest should be a key component of conservation plans (Mfossa et al., 2018; Gaworecki, 2020; Truscott, 2021).
Despite the suspension of plans for direct exploitation, the site remains threatened by encroachment. To the north lies a large forestry concession (FMU 00-004) while logging roads in the southern part of the forest give access to illicit logging and bushmeat hunting. A major 123,000 ha palm oil plantation has also been established on the western fringe of the forest by the Cameroonian company Azur/Greenfil, which, it is feared, will lead to an increase in encroachments into the forest for bushmeat and logging as well as forming a dispersal boundary for forest populations (Mowbray, 2017; Earthsight, 2018; Orozco & Salber, 2019). Non-industrial cultivation is actually the main source of palm oil in the region, and is a further local threat through insidious and ongoing forest fragmentation (Nkongho et al.,2014; Mahmoud et al., 2019). A study of Ebo and the wider Littoral region reported a 57% increase in fragmentation of natural forest between 1975 and 2017 (Mahmoud et al 2019). Future expansion of cultivation into the Ebo forest area can also be envisaged if timber extraction does proceed in and around the forest since logging and road building has been shown to be a facilitator of further land clearance (Mahmoud et al 2019). The conservation of the forest is also threatened by mining permits covering the southeastern part, amounting to around a third of the area (Mahmoud et al., 2019).
The Ebo forest provides crucial habitat to several Endangered primates listed as Class A under the Cameroon Wildlife Law of 1994, as well as a great diversity of other fauna and flora (Abwe & Morgan, 2008; Birdlife International, 2020; Cheek et al., 2018; Whytock et al., 2021). The forest is an important, internationally recognised centre of academic research for students and scientists at the University of Douala, and the EFRP supported by San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance (SDZWA). The people of over 40 local communities are reliant on the forest for medicines and food, as well as timber, wood and freshwater. It also has great cultural and spiritual importance since many of the older people in these communities grew up in villages within the forest before these were abandoned, and the grave-sites of elders buried in the forest are still visited (Murphy, 2020). Leaders of these communities have asserted the importance of this cultural heritage through the legally recognised association of traditional chiefs, association des Chefs Traditionnels Riverains de La Forêt d’Ebo (ACTRIFE) (Mfossa et al., 2017). The forest has also been estimated to have a total carbon stock of 35 million tonnes (GFW, 2020). Many species of scientific and economic importance are also found within the forest, including timber trees like Diospyros crassiflora which provides African ebony used for musical instruments, and Rungia congoensis which has been shown to have anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties (Kapepula et al., 2019).
Bruce Murphy, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Ekwoge Abwe, Ebo Forest Research Project, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance (SDZWA)
Xander van der Burgt, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Martin Cheek, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew
Bethan Morgan, Ebo Forest Research Project, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance (SDZWA)
Species | Qualifying sub-criterion | ≥ 1% of global population | ≥ 5% of national population | 1 of 5 best sites nationally | Entire global population | Socio-economically important | Abundance at site |
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Afrofittonia silvestris Lindau | A(i) | ![]() |
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Afrostyrax lepidophyllus Mildbr. | A(i) | ![]() |
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Afzelia bipindensis Harms | A(i) | ![]() |
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Afzelia pachyloba Harms | A(i) | ![]() |
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Allanblackia gabonensis (Pellegr.) Bamps | A(i) | ![]() |
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Ardisia ebo Cheek | A(i) | ![]() |
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Asystasia lindauiana Hutch. & Dalziel | A(i) | ![]() |
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Aulacocalyx camerooniana Sonké & S.E.Dawson | A(i) | ![]() |
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Berlinia korupensis Mackinder & Burgt | A(i) | ![]() |
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Belonophora ongensis S.E.Dawson & Cheek | A(i), A(iii) | ![]() |
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Boutiquea platypetala (Engl. & Diels) Le Thomas | A(i) | ![]() |
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Calycosiphonia macrochlamys (K.Schum.) Robbr. | A(i) | ![]() |
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Campylospermum umbricola (Tiegh.) Farron | A(i) | ![]() |
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Chazaliella obanensis (Wernham) Petit & Verdc. | A(i) | ![]() |
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Chlamydocardia subrhomboidea Lindau | A(i) | ![]() |
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Coffea fotsoana Stoffelen & Sonké | A(i) | ![]() |
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Daniellia oblonga Oliv. | A(i) | ![]() |
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Diospyros crassiflora Hiern | A(i) | ![]() |
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Dorstenia prorepens Engl. | A(i) | ![]() |
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Drypetes preussii (Pax) Hutch. | A(i) | ![]() |
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Entandrophragma utile (Dawe & Sprague) Sprague | A(i) | ![]() |
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Floscopa mannii C.B.Clarke | A(i) | ![]() |
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Garcinia kola Heckel | A(i) | ![]() |
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Gilbertiodendron ebo Burgt & Mackinder | A(i) | ![]() |
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Gilbertiodendron newberyi Burgt | A(i) | ![]() |
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Hoplestigma pierreanum Gilg | A(i), A(iii) | ![]() |
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Hymenostegia brachyura (Harms) J.Léonard | A(i) | ![]() |
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Impatiens frithii Cheek | A(i) | ![]() |
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Inversodicraea ebo Cheek | A(i) | ![]() |
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Kupeantha ebo Alvarez & Cheek | A(i) | ![]() |
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Lophira alata Banks ex Gaertn.f. | A(i) | ![]() |
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Microberlinia bisulcata A.Chev. | A(i) | ![]() |
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Microcos magnifica Cheek | A(i) | ![]() |
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Momordica enneaphylla Cogn. | A(i) | ![]() |
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Myrianthus fosi Cheek | A(i) | ![]() |
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Ochna calodendron Gilg & Mildbr. | A(i) | ![]() |
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Palisota ebo Cheek | A(i) | ![]() |
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Pauridiantha divaricata (K.Schum.) Bremek. | A(i) | ![]() |
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Pavetta brachycalyx Hiern | A(i) | ![]() |
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Piptostigma macrophyllum Ghogue, Sonké & Couvreur | A(i) | ![]() |
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Piptostigma submontanum Ghogue, Sonké & Couvreur, | A(i) | ![]() |
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Psychotria darwiniana Cheek | A(i) | ![]() |
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Psychotria densinervia (K.Krause) Verdc. | A(i), A(iii) | ![]() |
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Psychotria lanceifolia K.Schum. | A(i) | ![]() |
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Psychotria njumei Cheek | A(i) | ![]() |
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Rhaptopetalum breteleri Letouzey | A(i) | ![]() |
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Rhaptopetalum sessilifolium Engl. | A(i), A(iii) | ![]() |
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Sabicea rufa Wernham | A(i) | ![]() |
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Sabicea xanthotricha Wernham | A(i) | ![]() |
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Salacia nigra Cheek | A(i) | ![]() |
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Schefflera mannii (Hook.f.) Harms | A(i) | ![]() |
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Secamone letouzeana (H. Huber) Klack. | A(i) | ![]() |
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Staurogyne bicolor (Mildbr.) Champl. | A(i) | ![]() |
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Talbotiella ebo Mackinder & Wieringa | A(i) | ![]() |
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Tapinanthus preussii (Engl.) Tiegh. | A(i) | ![]() |
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Trichostachys petiolata Hiern | A(i) | ![]() |
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Uvariopsis submontana Kenfack, Gosline & Gereau | A(i) | ![]() |
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Whitfieldia preussii (Lindau) C.B.Clarke | A(i) | ![]() |
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Xylopia africana (Benth.) Oliv. | A(i) | ![]() |
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Crateranthus cameroonensis Cheek & Prance | A(i) | ![]() |
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Mendoncia camerounensis Breteler & Wieringa | A(i) | ![]() |
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Hymenostegia talbotii Baker f. | A(i) | ![]() |
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Hymenostegia viridiflora Mackinder & Wieringa | A(i) | ![]() |
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Costus albiflos Maas & H.Maas | A(i) | ![]() |
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Costus kupensis H.Maas & Maas | A(i) | ![]() |
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Plagiosiphon discifer Harms | A(i) | ![]() |
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Rungia congoensis C.B.Clarke | A(ii) | ![]() |
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Uvariopsis zenkeri Engl. | A(i) | ![]() |
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Vitex lokundjensis W.Piep. | A(i) | ![]() |
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Nothodissotis barteri (Hook.f.) Veranso-Libalah & G.Kadereit | A(i) | ![]() |
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Anthonotha xanderi Breteler | A(i) | ![]() |
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Afrothismia fungiformis Sainge & Kenfack | A(i) | ![]() |
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Pseudohydrosme ebo Cheek | A(i) | ![]() |
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Uvariopsis dicaprio Cheek & Gosline | A(iii), A(iv) | ![]() |
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Dicranolepis polygaloides Gilg ex H.Pearson | A(i) | ![]() |
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Rhaphidophora pusilla N.E.Br | A(i) | ![]() |
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Leplaea thompsonii (Sprague & Hutch.) E.J.M.Koenen & J.J.de Wilde | A(i) | ![]() |
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Sabicea medusula K.Schum. ex Wernham | A(i) | ![]() |
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Globulostylis rammelooana Sonké | A(i) | ![]() |
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Bulbophyllum alinae Szlach. | A(i), A(iii) | ![]() |
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Bulbophyllum calvum Summerh. | A(i) | ![]() |
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Genyorchis platybulbon Schltr. | A(i) | ![]() |
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Bulbophyllum teretifolium Schltr. | A(i) | ![]() |
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Eggelingia gabonensis P.J.Cribb & Laan | A(i) | ![]() |
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Kupeantha yabassi M.G.Alvarez & Cheek | A(i), A(iii) | ![]() |
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Phyllanthus caesiifolius Petra Hoffm. & Cheek | A(i) | ![]() |
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Phyllanthus nyale Petra Hoffm. & Cheek | A(i) | ![]() |
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Guibourtia pellegriniana J.Léonard | A(i) | ![]() |
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Neolemonniera batesii (Engl.) Heine | A(i) | ![]() |
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Thyrsosalacia pararacemosa N.Hallé | A(i) | ![]() |
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Bulbophyllum porphyrostachys Summerh. | A(i) | ![]() |
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Hamilcoa zenkeri (Pax) Prain | A(i) | ![]() |
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Coffea leonimontana Stoff. | A(i) | ![]() |
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Dichapetalum korupinum Breteler | A(i) | ![]() |
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Vitex yaundensis Gürke | A(i) | ![]() |
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Aristolochia preussii Engl. | A(i) | ![]() |
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Landolphia maxima (K.Schum. ex Hallier f.) Pichon | A(i) | ![]() |
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Rinorea thomasii Achound. | A(i) | ![]() |
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Psychotria arborea Hiern | A(i) | ![]() |
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Trichoscypha mannii Hook.f. | A(i) | ![]() |
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Entandrophragma angolense (Welw.) C.DC. | A(i) | ![]() |
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Tricalysia vadensis Robbr. | A(i) | ![]() |
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Impatiens banen Cheek | A(iii) | ![]() |
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Thunbergia cuanzensis S.Moore | A(iii) | ![]() |
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Afrofittonia silvestris Lindau
Afrostyrax lepidophyllus Mildbr.
Afzelia bipindensis Harms
Afzelia pachyloba Harms
Allanblackia gabonensis (Pellegr.) Bamps
Ardisia ebo Cheek
Asystasia lindauiana Hutch. & Dalziel
Aulacocalyx camerooniana Sonké & S.E.Dawson
Berlinia korupensis Mackinder & Burgt
Belonophora ongensis S.E.Dawson & Cheek
Boutiquea platypetala (Engl. & Diels) Le Thomas
Calycosiphonia macrochlamys (K.Schum.) Robbr.
Campylospermum umbricola (Tiegh.) Farron
Chazaliella obanensis (Wernham) Petit & Verdc.
Chlamydocardia subrhomboidea Lindau
Coffea fotsoana Stoffelen & Sonké
Daniellia oblonga Oliv.
Diospyros crassiflora Hiern
Dorstenia prorepens Engl.
Drypetes preussii (Pax) Hutch.
Entandrophragma utile (Dawe & Sprague) Sprague
Floscopa mannii C.B.Clarke
Garcinia kola Heckel
Gilbertiodendron ebo Burgt & Mackinder
Gilbertiodendron newberyi Burgt
Hoplestigma pierreanum Gilg
Hymenostegia brachyura (Harms) J.Léonard
Impatiens frithii Cheek
Inversodicraea ebo Cheek
Kupeantha ebo Alvarez & Cheek
Lophira alata Banks ex Gaertn.f.
Microberlinia bisulcata A.Chev.
Microcos magnifica Cheek
Momordica enneaphylla Cogn.
Myrianthus fosi Cheek
Ochna calodendron Gilg & Mildbr.
Palisota ebo Cheek
Pauridiantha divaricata (K.Schum.) Bremek.
Pavetta brachycalyx Hiern
Piptostigma macrophyllum Ghogue, Sonké & Couvreur
Piptostigma submontanum Ghogue, Sonké & Couvreur,
Psychotria darwiniana Cheek
Psychotria densinervia (K.Krause) Verdc.
Psychotria lanceifolia K.Schum.
Psychotria njumei Cheek
Rhaptopetalum breteleri Letouzey
Rhaptopetalum sessilifolium Engl.
Sabicea rufa Wernham
Sabicea xanthotricha Wernham
Salacia nigra Cheek
Schefflera mannii (Hook.f.) Harms
Secamone letouzeana (H. Huber) Klack.
Staurogyne bicolor (Mildbr.) Champl.
Talbotiella ebo Mackinder & Wieringa
Tapinanthus preussii (Engl.) Tiegh.
Trichostachys petiolata Hiern
Uvariopsis submontana Kenfack, Gosline & Gereau
Whitfieldia preussii (Lindau) C.B.Clarke
Xylopia africana (Benth.) Oliv.
Crateranthus cameroonensis Cheek & Prance
Mendoncia camerounensis Breteler & Wieringa
Hymenostegia talbotii Baker f.
Hymenostegia viridiflora Mackinder & Wieringa
Costus albiflos Maas & H.Maas
Costus kupensis H.Maas & Maas
Plagiosiphon discifer Harms
Rungia congoensis C.B.Clarke
Uvariopsis zenkeri Engl.
Vitex lokundjensis W.Piep.
Nothodissotis barteri (Hook.f.) Veranso-Libalah & G.Kadereit
Anthonotha xanderi Breteler
Afrothismia fungiformis Sainge & Kenfack
Pseudohydrosme ebo Cheek
Uvariopsis dicaprio Cheek & Gosline
Dicranolepis polygaloides Gilg ex H.Pearson
Rhaphidophora pusilla N.E.Br
Leplaea thompsonii (Sprague & Hutch.) E.J.M.Koenen & J.J.de Wilde
Sabicea medusula K.Schum. ex Wernham
Globulostylis rammelooana Sonké
Bulbophyllum alinae Szlach.
Bulbophyllum calvum Summerh.
Genyorchis platybulbon Schltr.
Bulbophyllum teretifolium Schltr.
Eggelingia gabonensis P.J.Cribb & Laan
Kupeantha yabassi M.G.Alvarez & Cheek
Phyllanthus caesiifolius Petra Hoffm. & Cheek
Phyllanthus nyale Petra Hoffm. & Cheek
Guibourtia pellegriniana J.Léonard
Neolemonniera batesii (Engl.) Heine
Thyrsosalacia pararacemosa N.Hallé
Bulbophyllum porphyrostachys Summerh.
Hamilcoa zenkeri (Pax) Prain
Coffea leonimontana Stoff.
Dichapetalum korupinum Breteler
Vitex yaundensis Gürke
Aristolochia preussii Engl.
Landolphia maxima (K.Schum. ex Hallier f.) Pichon
Rinorea thomasii Achound.
Psychotria arborea Hiern
Trichoscypha mannii Hook.f.
Entandrophragma angolense (Welw.) C.DC.
Tricalysia vadensis Robbr.
Impatiens banen Cheek
Thunbergia cuanzensis S.Moore
General site habitat | Percent coverage | Importance |
---|---|---|
Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland Forest | 80 | Major |
Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane Forest | 20 | Major |
Wetlands (inland) - Permanent Rivers, Streams, Creeks [includes waterfalls] | ![]() |
Unknown |
Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland Forest
Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane Forest
Wetlands (inland) - Permanent Rivers, Streams, Creeks [includes waterfalls]
Land use type | Percent coverage | Importance |
---|---|---|
Harvesting of wild resources | 100 | Minor |
Harvesting of wild resources
Threat | Severity | Timing |
---|---|---|
Agriculture & aquaculture - Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Agro-industry farming | Medium | Ongoing - increasing |
Agriculture & aquaculture - Wood & pulp plantations - Small-holder plantations | Medium | Ongoing - increasing |
Energy production & mining - Mining & quarrying | Medium | Ongoing - trend unknown |
Biological resource use - Logging & wood harvesting - Unintentional effects: large scale (species being assessed is not the target) [harvest] | High | Future - planned activity |
Agriculture & aquaculture - Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Shifting agriculture | Low | Ongoing - trend unknown |
Agriculture & aquaculture - Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Agro-industry farming
Agriculture & aquaculture - Wood & pulp plantations - Small-holder plantations
Energy production & mining - Mining & quarrying
Biological resource use - Logging & wood harvesting - Unintentional effects: large scale (species being assessed is not the target) [harvest]
Agriculture & aquaculture - Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Shifting agriculture
Designation name | Protected area | Relationship with IPA | Areal overlap |
---|---|---|---|
Yabassi Important Bird Area | Important Bird Area | protected/conservation area overlaps with IPA | 1400 |
Yabassi Key Biodiversity Area | Key Biodiversity Area | protected/conservation area overlaps with IPA | 1400 |
Yabassi Important Bird Area
Yabassi Key Biodiversity Area
Management type | Description | Year started | Year finished |
---|---|---|---|
No management plan in place | ![]() |
![]() |
No management plan in place
IUCN Red List
The Ebo Forest: four years of preliminary research and conservation of the Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes vellerosus)
Pan Africa News, Vol 15, page(s) 26-29
Notes on the endemic plant species of the Ebo Forest, Cameroon, and the new, Critically Endangered, Palisota ebo (Commelinaceae)
Plant Ecology and Evolution, Vol 151(3), page(s) 434-441
Global Forest Watch
Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities of Rungia congoensis, a traditional vegetable consumed by Yombe people from Kongo Central area (DR. Congo)
Natural Product Research, Vol 33(11), page(s) 1650-1654
The distribution, status, and conservation outlook of the drill (Mandrillus leucophaeus) in Cameroon
International Journal of Primatology, Vol 34(2), page(s) 281-302
Regional Action Plan for the Conservation of the Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes ellioti)
Oryx, page(s) 1-10.
The Cross River gorilla: Natural history and status of a neglected and critically endangered subspecies
Gorilla Biology: A Multidisciplinary Approach (pub. Cambridge University Press), page(s) 472–497
Conserving the Ebo gorillas through community collaboration
Gorilla Journal, Vol 55, page(s) 16-20
Land-cover change threatens tropical forests and biodiversity in the Littoral Region, Cameroon
Oryx, page(s) 1-10
Newly discovered gorilla population in the Ebo forest, Littoral Province, Cameroon
International Journal of Primatology, Vol 24, page(s) 1129–1137
Important Bird Areas factsheet: Yabassi.
Global distribution of species diversity in vascular plants: towards a world map of phytodiversity.
Erkunde, Vol 50, page(s) 317-328
Ardisia ebo sp. nov. (Myrsinaceae), a creeping forest subshrub of Cameroon and Gabon
KEW BULLETIN VOL. 67: 281 Y 284 (2012), Vol 67, page(s) 281-284
A synoptic revision of Inversodicraea (Podostemaceae)
Blumea, Vol 62, page(s) 125 –156
Kupeantha (Coffeeae, Rubiaceae), a new genus from Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea
PLoS ONE, Vol 13, page(s) e0199324
A synoptic revision of Inversodicraea (Podostemaceae)
Blumea, Vol 62, page(s) 125 –156
Palmed off: An investigation into three industrial palm oil and rubber projects in Cameroon and the Republic of Congo
Vascular Plants of Cameroon: Taxonomic Checklist. In: Flore Du Cameroon, Occasional Volume, IRAD-National Herbarium of Cameroon, Yaounde, 195.
The last frontiers of wilderness: Tracking loss of intact forest landscapes from 2000 to 2013
Science Advances, 2017, page(s) 3:e1600821
Illegal logging threatens rare Cameroonian hardwood with extinction
Mongabay, 4 October 2021 Available online
The Coming Storm: How Secrecy and Collusion in Industrial Agriculture Spell Disaster for the Congo Basin’s Forests
Ebo forest great apes threatened by stalled Cameroon national park
The non-industrial palm oil sector in Cameroon. Working Paper 139
Cameroon halts logging plans in Ebo Forest, home to tool-using chimps
Taxonomic revision of the threatened African genus Pseudohydrosme Engl. (Araceae), with P. ebo, a new, critically endangered species from Ebo, Cameroon
PeerJ, Vol 9:e10689
Podcast: Great ape ‘forest gardeners of Africa’ benefit from conservation victory
Local Communities’ Connections to Ebo Forest Span Generations
Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity
Nature Communications, Vol 11, 5978.
Spatial priorities for conserving the most intact biodiverse forests within Central Africa
Environmental Research Letters, Vol 15, 0940b5
Mammal distribution and trends in the threatened Ebo ’intact forest landscape’, Cameroon
Global Ecology and Conservation, Vol 31, e01833
Bruce Murphy, Ekwoge Abwe, Xander van der Burgt, Martin Cheek, Bethan Morgan (2024) Tropical Important Plant Areas Explorer: Ebo Forest (Cameroon). https://tipas.kew.org/site/ebo-forest/ (Accessed on 08/09/2024)