Central African Republic:Bangassou

Context
The Bangassou forest is a mosaic of dense forest and savannah in southeastern Central African Republic (CAR) on the northern edge of the Guineo-Congolian forest massif. The forest has never been commercially exploited for timber and is inhabited by 40,000 people in 220 villages with associated roads, fields, coffee and palm plantations. The Bangassou forest is not a legally gazetted protected area, but is managed as a biodiversity conservation and sustainable use area based on decentralized community management of natural resources. The “Bangassou Forest Project” until recently funded by the Global Environmental Facility/UNDP, is managed by the Ministry of Water, Forests, Hunting, Fishing, and Environment (MEFCPET), with technical assistance from the Canadian Center for International Studies and Cooperation (CECI).

Illegal hunting is the greatest threat to elephants in Bangassou, by organized and well-armed Sudanese and Chadian poachers on camels and horseback, as well as local inhabitants, who hunt elephants for bushmeat and ivory. Surveys of Bangassou’s elephant population were carried out in 1989 and 1995-1996, estimating population sizes of 2,640 and 1,600 respectively.

The MIKE programme carried out a systematic, low-intensity survey in the Bangassou forest, including a repeat of the 1989 survey (at the same time of year), to assess current relative elephant abundance and distribution, and illegal killing. The survey route was non-randomly placed for budgetary reasons to efficiently cross human impact gradients. WCS, MEFCPET, and CECI staff carried out elephant dung counts using standardised methods on reconnaissance walks and line-transects. A brief study of the main Bangassou meat market was also carried out to assess the scale of the elephant meat trade.

Inventory of forest elephants
Elephant sign was rare in the Bangassou forest and restricted to small pockets in the most remote areas visited. On over 500 km of recce walks, elephants were never seen, were heard 3 times, and 449 dung piles were recorded (mean encounter rate 0.89 ±0.36 pileskm-1). Elephant paths were encountered with similar frequency: 0.9 ±0.18 trailskm-1. On 14 km of transects, 7 dung piles were recorded on the two most remote locations along the survey (Figure. 1). Overall mean encounter rate for dung piles on transects was 0.5 ±0.81, and for elephant paths was 1.5 ±0.24 paths/km. The repeat of the 1989 survey showed dramatic declines in elephant sign for both survey sites (Table 1).

Elephant distribution and human activity
Elephant sign was largely restricted to the most remote areas surveyed, with a strong correlation between elephant sign and distance from roads and villages. A strong negative correlation existed between human sign and elephant sign frequency for both reconnaissance walk  and transect data.

Elephant carcasses and hunting camps
Two elephant carcasses, both poached, were recorded during the 504 km reconnaissance survey (encounter rate = 4/1000km). Forty-seven hunting camps were found, however none could be positively identified as elephant poaching camps. Signs of hunting were common throughout the zone, though human sign frequency declined with distance from villages and roads as expected. One hundred and ninety shotgun cartridges and 31 snares were found, suggesting guns are preferred over snares for hunting.

Bangassou meat market
Elephant meat was openly sold in the Bangassou market through the 24-day study period. Eight trunk ends and 3 upper trunk portions verified that remains of at least 9 elephants had been sold. Evidence suggests that at least half of the elephant meat coming into the market originated from elephants killed in the Democratic Republic of Congo.