Country: Cameroon
Administrative region: Southwest (Region)
Central co-ordinates: 4.36000 N, 9.00000 E
Area: 395km²
A(i)Site contains one or more globally threatened species
The Mokoko-Onge forests qualify under IPA criterion A(i) as they harbour important populations of numerous globally threatened species. The site may also potentially qualify under criterion B due to the high number of conservation species and also under criterion C due to the importance and rarity of the coastal lowland forest.
The Mokoko-Onge forests neighbouring the Onge river on the western side of Mount Cameroon are the best preserved of the dense lowland forests once surrounding this huge volcanic mountain (Mwachala & Cheek, 2012). The area demarcated here incorporates the Onge proposed integral reserve and the former Mokoko River Forest Reserve, although these have been largely subsumed within a large logging concession as UFA 11-008 on recent maps of Cameroon's forestry estate (MINFOF & WRI, 2021).The site extends from the villages of Mokoko and Barombi Mokoko in the North, south to Bonjaro and Boa then west of the logging concession to meet the border of the proposed Ndongere National Park and south and east along the coast to the palm oil plantations at Ideanau. East of the Onge river which forms the eastern border of UFA 11-008, the border incorporates the Onge proposed integral reserve and extends north to Bambuko at the northeast tip of the UFA. Although it omits degraded habitat surrounding the Bomana Bakweri-Koto-Bambuko road, this area extending to the western boundary of the Mt Cameroon National Park would best be considered a buffer zone of the National Park and all further development considered subject to the impact on the neighbouring forests and their connectivity.
This lowland forest site is one of the most important habitats in Cameroon due to the rarity of surviving coastal lowland rainforest, the very high biodiversity specific to the Mt Cameroon area, and its contribution to a surviving gradient of natural vegetation from sea-level forest to sub-alpine summit grassland that is unique in Africa (Cheek et al., 1996; Forboseh et al., 2011). It is part of a zone that has the highest plant species and generic diversity per degree square in tropical africa (Barthlott et al., 1996; Dagallier et al., 2020) and much of this diversity is supplied by the unprotected, dense lowland forests rather than the higher slopes which constitute the bulk of the Mt Cameroon National Park (Cable & Cheek, 1998; Mwachala & Cheek, 2012).
Over 70 globally threatened plants are recorded. Octoknema mokoko (CR), Afrothismia foertheriana (CR) and Mitriostigma bakweri (ined.) are considered globally unique to the site, while Cola cecidifolia (CR) may also be endemic since it is likely to have been lost from the only other known sites, nearby Southern Bakundu and Bimbia Bonadikombo, which have suffered severe degradation (Cheek et al., 2015; Cheek & Lawrence, 2018). Several other taxa are only known from elsewhere in the Mt Cameroon area or from one or two other key sites like Korup National Park.
Mount Cameroon is an active volcano and the highest mountain in West or Central Africa. It is part of the Cameroon Volcanic Line which extends northeastwards from the offshore islands of Annobon, Sao Tome and Bioko, through southwestern Cameroon to the Bamenda highlands and beyond. The mountain is formed of alkali basalt and basanite lavas overlying Cretacious to Miocene (or more recent) sediments which in turn rest on precambrian metamorphic basement rocks (Déreulle et al, 1987; Mathieu et al., 2011). Recent research and dating methods suggest most of the surface lavas appear to be relatively recent (<2 Ma) and roughly contemporaneous although eruptions continue to the present.
Soils of the Mokoko-Onge area are predominantly volcanic, mostly relatively old and well weathered, and fertile (fertility class 2 of four according to Hawkins and Brunt's (1965) classification) but with one major incursion of new lava from the 1922 eruption which reached the coast near Idenau, where there is also a patch of alluvial soils. Hawkins and Brunt (1965) map the area as an association of old volcanic (red, clayey, acidic, deep, well draining with lateritic rubble) and sedimentary soils from overlying sediments, while Valerie (1970) indicates a juxtaposition of eutrophic brown mull soils with red ferrallitic sesquioxide soils on basic rocks. Sandy areas are also mentioned on specimen records cited by Mwachala & Cheek (2012). Fertility of remaining well-forested areas may be less high than areas already cleared for farming.
The Mount Cameroon area has a seasonal monsoon climate but with considerable local variation in levels of precipitation due to the orographic influence of the 4000 m mountain immediately adjacent to the Atlantic ocean. Between April and October southwest winds bring rain which is deposited in especially high volumes at the southwest foot of the mountain (Cable & Cheek, 1998). Long-term (30- 40 year) records up to 1993 indicate an annual mean of 8392 mm at Ideanau at the southeastern tip of this site, and 9086 mm at Debundscha 15 km to the south where a maximum of nearly 17 m was recorded in one year (Fraser et al., 1998). By contrast, at Mokoko on the northern edge of the site the mean drops to 2844 mm, with three months (December-February) registering <25mm (although the measuring period was much shorter (N = 9-13). Temperatures varied relatively little seasonally but were slightly higher in the north with Mokoko registering monthly means ranging from 27.5 to 31.8 °C while at Ideanau the range was only 29-30.4 °C.
Under Letouzey's (1981) scheme the area is mostly designated as Atlantic Biafran forest with Caesalpinaceae (type 228) punctuated by semi-deciduous colonising elements (type 167).
The Bambuko-Balundu Native Authority Reserve was originally demarcated in 1936-7 and gazetted in 1952 by the colonial authorities as a timber reserve, with a secondary aim of watershed protection (Acworth et al., 2021). It became the Mokoko River Forest Reserve in the 1970s. To the north and west, the "Boa plain", approximately 30,000 ha of secondary forest on floodplain, was targeted by colonial farmers for plantations and later reverted to the state to be leased to the Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC). Although by the mid 1900s only c.2500 ha had been actively planted by the CDC and another 4000 ha "illegally" squatted by small-scale farmers, planting of oil palm has intensified in the last decade (Mbom, 2009). Population pressure is high with 50,000 people estimated to live on these plains, mostly in fishing villages on the coast but with c.90% of households actively farming the land. High levels of migration due to fertile soils and employment opportunities in the CDC plantations, along with the confused colonial legacy of land tenure and the lure of logging profits, have created complex relationships between those competing for resources (Acworth et al., 2021). Intentions of the MCP, funded by the UK and German governments, to promote sustainable resource use in the Mokoko reserve gave way to involvement in more urgent processes at the "farm-forest" interface of the Boa plain area, which acts as a protective belt for the Mokoko reserve itself. Although the MCP eventually managed to assuage mistrust of some groups and promote sustainable management of the forests in a participatory context, and organisations like the Mokoko Wildlife Management Association (MWMA) have formed to promote sustainable wildlife management within the forests, the MCP withdrawal in 2002 threatened to leave a void. Cheek & Prance (2015) report that although logging was occurring in the Onge forests, this has not proceeded as fast as was once feared, while much feared privatisation of the CDC and associated acceleration of plantation development has not occurred. However, efforts to establish an Onge integral forest reserve have yet to bear fruit, and most of the habitat connecting the slopes of Mt Cameroon with the lowland forests has been severely degraded, only leaving a precarious remaining wildlife corridor. In the Bomana area, conservation efforts have also met opposition from from local interests keen to strike deals with logging firms (Acworth et al., 2021).
Most of the heart of the IPA forms a 160 km2 section of production forest unit, UFA 11-008 which has two further disjunct units northwest and southwest of Bakossi National Park and is leased to the Cameroonian company SEPFCO. Forest monitoring suggests 553 ha of forest were lost between 2001 and 2018, with disturbance mainly in the northwest part (OpenTimberPortal, 2021).
Local organisations ERUDEF and Ecological Balance have implemented a project to replenish stocks and protect existing trees of the commercially valuable Microberlinia bisulcata (Zebrawood) in the Mokoko forest where it has been the subject of heavy logging (ERUDEF, 2021; Truscott, 2021).
The site provides stocks and a genetic reservoir of valuable timber species such as Microberlinia bisulcata (Zebrawood). Seedlings have been raised from here to replenish other areas (Truscott, 2021).
Existing forest cover provides watershed protection for rivers supplying a large population with drinking water and important coastal nurseries, as well as protecting against flooding (Yaron, 1998).
The site provides very important habitat for threatened animals: it is a major part of a zone demarcated as an IBA, KBA and an Alliance for Zero Extinction site.
The forest is a valuable store of carbon which, in estimations of alternative land-use options in the 1990s, was much the largest contributor to scenarios in which sustainable land-use in the Mokoko area exceeded the dollar value of timber, palm-oil and agricultural use (Yaron et al., 1998).
Mount Cameroon is a significant tourist destination. The lowland forests have great untapped potential to be part of ecotourist ventures.
Bruce Murphy, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Belonophora ongensis S.E.Dawson & Cheek | A(i), A(iii) | ||||||
Hoplestigma pierreanum Gilg | A(i), A(iii) | ||||||
Psychotria bimbiensis Bridson & Cheek | A(i) | ||||||
Cola metallica Cheek | A(i) | ||||||
Chlorophytum petrophilum K.Krause | A(i) | ||||||
Microberlinia bisulcata A.Chev. | A(i) | ||||||
Piptostigma longepilosum | A(i) | ||||||
Cryptosepalum korupense Burgt | A(i) | ||||||
Tessmannia korupensis Burgt | A(i) | ||||||
Dactyladenia mannii (Oliv.) Prance & F.White | A(i) | ||||||
Cola praecuta Brenan & Keay | A(i) | ||||||
Cola cecidiifolia Cheek | A(i) | ||||||
Gastrodia africana Kraenzl. | A(i), A(iii) | ||||||
Dactyladenia cinerea (Engl. ex De Wild.) Prance & F.White | A(i) | ||||||
Psychotria elephantina Lachenaud & Cheek | A(i) | ||||||
Floscopa mannii C.B.Clarke | A(i) | ||||||
Sabicea xanthotricha Wernham | A(i) | ||||||
Anopyxis klaineana (Pierre) Engl. | A(i) | ||||||
Diospyros crassiflora Hiern | A(i) | ||||||
Angylocalyx talbotii Baker f. ex Hutch. & Dalziel | A(i) | ||||||
Nothospondias staudtii Engl. | A(i) | ||||||
Ancistrocladus le-testui Pellegr. | A(i) | ||||||
Vepris lecomteana (Pierre) Cheek & T.Heller | A(i) | ||||||
Deinbollia maxima Gilg ex Engl. | A(i) | ||||||
Salacia volubilis Loes. & H.J.P.Winkl. | A(i) | ||||||
Leeuwenbergia letestui Letouzey & N.Hallé | A(i) | ||||||
Sabicea medusula K.Schum. ex Wernham | A(i) | ||||||
Begonia preussii Warb. | A(i) | ||||||
Lophira alata Banks ex Gaertn.f. | A(i) | ||||||
Drypetes staudtii (Pax) Hutch. | A(i) | ||||||
Drypetes preussii (Pax) Hutch. | A(i) | ||||||
Garcinia kola Heckel | A(i) | ||||||
Salacia lenticellosa Loes. ex Harms | A(i) | ||||||
Afrofittonia silvestris Lindau | A(i) | ||||||
Brillantaisia lancifolia Lindau | A(i) | ||||||
Eurypetalum unijugum Harms | A(i) | ||||||
Loesenera talbotii Baker f. | A(i) | ||||||
Hugonia macrophylla Oliv. | A(i) | ||||||
Strychnos staudtii Gilg | A(i) | ||||||
Psychotria camerunensis E.M.A.Petit | A(i) | ||||||
Psychotria podocarpa Petit | A(i) | ||||||
Dicranolepis polygaloides Gilg ex H.Pearson | A(i) | ||||||
Cuviera talbotii (Wernham) Verdc. | A(i) | ||||||
Strychnos elaeocarpa Gilg ex Leeuwenb. | A(i) | ||||||
Medusandra richardsiana Brenan | A(i) | ||||||
Rinorea thomasii Achound. | A(i) | ||||||
Gaertnera letouzeyi Malcomber | A(i) | ||||||
Psychotria asterogramma O.Lachenaud | A(i) | ||||||
Impatiens hians Hook.f. var. bipindensis (Gilg) Grey-Wilson | A(i) | ||||||
Isomacrolobium leptorrhachis (Harms) Aubrév. & Pellegr. | A(i) | ||||||
Polystachya albescens Ridl. subsp. angustifolia (Summerh.) Summerh. | A(i) | ||||||
Uvariopsis zenkeri Engl. | A(i) | ||||||
Anthonotha xanderi Breteler | A(i) | ||||||
Globulostylis rammelooana Sonké | A(i) | ||||||
Belonophora talbotii (Wernham) Keay | A(i), A(iii) | ||||||
Pyrenacantha longirostrata Villiers | A(i) | ||||||
Campylospermum umbricola (Tiegh.) Farron | A(i) | ||||||
Talbotiella korupensis Mackinder & Wieringa | A(i) | ||||||
Chazaliella obanensis (Wernham) Petit & Verdc. | A(i) | ||||||
Rinorea dewitii Achound. | A(i) | ||||||
Cola suboppositifolia Cheek | A(i) | ||||||
Pseudosabicea batesii (Wernham) N.Hallé | A(i) | ||||||
Drypetes burnleyae Cheek | A(i) | ||||||
Afrothismia hydra Sainge & T.Franke | A(i) | ||||||
Afrothismia foertheriana T.Franke, Sainge & Agerer | A(i) | ||||||
Rinorea amietii Achound. | A(i) | ||||||
Hamilcoa zenkeri (Pax) Prain | A(i) | ||||||
Trichoscypha mannii Hook.f. | A(i) | ||||||
Salacia nigra Cheek | A(i) | ||||||
Guibourtia tessmannii (Harms) J.Léonard | A(i) | ||||||
Aframomum makandensis Dhetchuvi | A(i) | ||||||
Haplormosia monophylla (Harms) Harms | A(i) | ||||||
Aframomum tchoutoui D.J.Harris & Wortley | A(i) | ||||||
Aframomum plicatum D.J.Harris & Wortley | A(i) | ||||||
Garcinia staudtii Engl. | A(i) | ||||||
Globulostylis minor Wernham | A(iii) | ||||||
Guaduella humilis Clayton | A(i) | ||||||
Hymenostegia viridiflora Mackinder & Wieringa | A(i) | ||||||
Leeuwenbergia africana Letouzey & N.Hallé | A(i) | ||||||
Leptoderris aurantiaca, Leguminosae | A(i) | ||||||
Piptostigma oyemense Pellegr. | A(i) | ||||||
Psychotria njumei Cheek | A(i) | ||||||
Vitex lokundjensis W.Piep. | A(i) | ||||||
Sabicea urbaniana Wernham | A(iv) |
Belonophora ongensis S.E.Dawson & Cheek
Hoplestigma pierreanum Gilg
Psychotria bimbiensis Bridson & Cheek
Cola metallica Cheek
Chlorophytum petrophilum K.Krause
Microberlinia bisulcata A.Chev.
Piptostigma longepilosum
Cryptosepalum korupense Burgt
Tessmannia korupensis Burgt
Dactyladenia mannii (Oliv.) Prance & F.White
Cola praecuta Brenan & Keay
Cola cecidiifolia Cheek
Gastrodia africana Kraenzl.
Dactyladenia cinerea (Engl. ex De Wild.) Prance & F.White
Psychotria elephantina Lachenaud & Cheek
Floscopa mannii C.B.Clarke
Sabicea xanthotricha Wernham
Anopyxis klaineana (Pierre) Engl.
Diospyros crassiflora Hiern
Angylocalyx talbotii Baker f. ex Hutch. & Dalziel
Nothospondias staudtii Engl.
Ancistrocladus le-testui Pellegr.
Vepris lecomteana (Pierre) Cheek & T.Heller
Deinbollia maxima Gilg ex Engl.
Salacia volubilis Loes. & H.J.P.Winkl.
Leeuwenbergia letestui Letouzey & N.Hallé
Sabicea medusula K.Schum. ex Wernham
Begonia preussii Warb.
Lophira alata Banks ex Gaertn.f.
Drypetes staudtii (Pax) Hutch.
Drypetes preussii (Pax) Hutch.
Garcinia kola Heckel
Salacia lenticellosa Loes. ex Harms
Afrofittonia silvestris Lindau
Brillantaisia lancifolia Lindau
Eurypetalum unijugum Harms
Loesenera talbotii Baker f.
Hugonia macrophylla Oliv.
Strychnos staudtii Gilg
Psychotria camerunensis E.M.A.Petit
Psychotria podocarpa Petit
Dicranolepis polygaloides Gilg ex H.Pearson
Cuviera talbotii (Wernham) Verdc.
Strychnos elaeocarpa Gilg ex Leeuwenb.
Medusandra richardsiana Brenan
Rinorea thomasii Achound.
Gaertnera letouzeyi Malcomber
Psychotria asterogramma O.Lachenaud
Impatiens hians Hook.f. var. bipindensis (Gilg) Grey-Wilson
Isomacrolobium leptorrhachis (Harms) Aubrév. & Pellegr.
Polystachya albescens Ridl. subsp. angustifolia (Summerh.) Summerh.
Uvariopsis zenkeri Engl.
Anthonotha xanderi Breteler
Globulostylis rammelooana Sonké
Belonophora talbotii (Wernham) Keay
Pyrenacantha longirostrata Villiers
Campylospermum umbricola (Tiegh.) Farron
Talbotiella korupensis Mackinder & Wieringa
Chazaliella obanensis (Wernham) Petit & Verdc.
Rinorea dewitii Achound.
Cola suboppositifolia Cheek
Pseudosabicea batesii (Wernham) N.Hallé
Drypetes burnleyae Cheek
Afrothismia hydra Sainge & T.Franke
Afrothismia foertheriana T.Franke, Sainge & Agerer
Rinorea amietii Achound.
Hamilcoa zenkeri (Pax) Prain
Trichoscypha mannii Hook.f.
Salacia nigra Cheek
Guibourtia tessmannii (Harms) J.Léonard
Aframomum makandensis Dhetchuvi
Haplormosia monophylla (Harms) Harms
Aframomum tchoutoui D.J.Harris & Wortley
Aframomum plicatum D.J.Harris & Wortley
Garcinia staudtii Engl.
Globulostylis minor Wernham
Guaduella humilis Clayton
Hymenostegia viridiflora Mackinder & Wieringa
Leeuwenbergia africana Letouzey & N.Hallé
Leptoderris aurantiaca, Leguminosae
Piptostigma oyemense Pellegr.
Psychotria njumei Cheek
Vitex lokundjensis W.Piep.
Sabicea urbaniana Wernham
General site habitat | Percent coverage | Importance |
---|---|---|
Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland Forest | 90 | Major |
Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland Forest
Land use type | Percent coverage | Importance |
---|---|---|
Forestry | 50 |
Forestry
Threat | Severity | Timing |
---|---|---|
Agriculture & aquaculture - Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Small-holder farming | High | Ongoing - trend unknown |
Agriculture & aquaculture - Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Agro-industry farming | High | Ongoing - trend unknown |
Energy production & mining - Oil & gas drilling | Low | Future - inferred threat |
Biological resource use - Logging & wood harvesting | High | Ongoing - trend unknown |
Agriculture & aquaculture - Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Small-holder farming
Agriculture & aquaculture - Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Agro-industry farming
Energy production & mining - Oil & gas drilling
Biological resource use - Logging & wood harvesting
Protected area name | Protected area type | Relationship with IPA | Areal overlap |
---|---|---|---|
Mount Cameroon National Park | National Park | protected/conservation area is adjacent to IPA | |
Ndognere Proposed National Park | National Park | protected/conservation area is adjacent to IPA |
Mount Cameroon National Park
Ndognere Proposed National Park
Designation name | Protected area | Relationship with IPA | Areal overlap |
---|---|---|---|
Mount Cameroon and Mokoko-Onge | Important Bird Area | protected/conservation area overlaps with IPA | 260 |
Mount Cameroon and Mokoko-Onge | Key Biodiversity Area | protected/conservation area overlaps with IPA | 260 |
Mount Cameroon and Mokoko-Onge | Alliance for Zero Extinction Site | protected/conservation area overlaps with IPA | 260 |
Estuaire du Rio Del Rey | Ramsar | protected/conservation area is adjacent to IPA |
Mount Cameroon and Mokoko-Onge
Mount Cameroon and Mokoko-Onge
Mount Cameroon and Mokoko-Onge
Estuaire du Rio Del Rey
Management type | Description | Year started | Year finished |
---|---|---|---|
No management plan in place | There does not appear to be a management plans for the FMU 11-008. A management plan for the neighbouring National Park succeeding that expiring in 2019 has not been seen but is likely to exist. |
No management plan in place
Notice de la carte phytogéographique du Cameroun au 1: 500,000.
Global distribution of species diversity in vascular plants: towards a world map of phytodiversity.
Erkunde, Vol 50, page(s) 317-328
The Plants of Mount Cameroon: A Conservation Checklist.
Climate of the Mount Cameroon Region: long and medium term rainfall, temperature and sunshine data. University of Wales, Bangor; Mount Cameroon Project and Cameroon Development Corporation. School of Agricultural and Forest Sciences Publication Number 16
The soil and ecology of west Cameroon. Vol. 1, Part 2
Mount Cameroon: an active volcano of the Cameroon Line
Journal of African Earth Sciences, Vol 6(2), page(s) 197-214
Tree Population Dynamics of Three Altitudinal Vegetation Communities on Mount Cameroon (1989-2004)
Journal of Mountain Science, Vol 8, page(s) 495–504.
Dactyladenia mannii. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015: e.T39510A2928487
Microberlinia bisulcata Project in the Mokoko Forest Reserve & Mt. Cameroon
Illegal logging threatens rare Cameroonian hardwood with extinction
Mongabay, 4 October 2021 Available online
CDC Starts Planting At The Boa Plain
Cameroon Post, 20 April 2009 Available online
Dracaena mokoko sp. nov. (Dracaenaceae – Ruscaceae/ Asparagaceae) a critically endangered forest species from Mokoko, Cameroon
Nordic Journal of Botany, Vol 30, page(s) 389–393
Towards Participatory Biodiversity Conservation in the Onge-Mokoko Forests of Cameroon
Rural Development Forestry Network, Vol network paper 25d (pub. Overseas Development Institute) Available online
Open Timber Portal: SEPFCO
Alternative Land Use Options in the Mount Cameroon Region: An Economic Analysis: A report prepared for the Mount Cameroon Project and Department for International Development
Field evidence for flank instability, basal spreading and volcano-tectonic interactions at Mt Cameroon, West Africa
Bulletin of Volcanology, Vol 73(7), page(s) 851–867
Afrothismia foertheriana. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T110096961A110096966
Cola cecidiifolia. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T43880A110085145
A monograph of Octoknema (Octoknemaceae — Olacaceae s.l.)
Kew Bulletin, Vol 66, page(s) 367–404
Forest Atlas of Cameroon
Cradles and museums of generic plant diversity across tropical Africa
New Phytologist, Vol 225(5), page(s) 2196-2213
Bruce Murphy (2024) Tropical Important Plant Areas Explorer: Mokoko-Onge (Cameroon). https://tipas.kew.org/site/mokoko-onge/ (Accessed on 12/12/2024)