In sub-Saharan Africa, the management of buffer zones around protected areas does not often take into serious account the needs of resource exploitation by the local populations or the conservation needs of these areas. We described the ecological characteristics and management issues affecting the buffer zone around the Fazao-Malfakassa National Park; a 192,000-ha protected area in central-western Togo of utmost conservation importance within the Dahomey Gap region. Within the buffer zone (10 km radius, 334,800 ha), we focussed on four high conservation value areas totalling 65,594 ha (20% of the total buffer zone area). Using 2015 sentinel-2 images we analyzed land cover patterns and described existing ecological zones. We complemented these with field surveys and interviews with 300 people living in 22 villages within the buffer zone to describe the conditions affecting the resident human population. Although over 60% of the total buffer zone area is degraded, we identified four areas of high conservation value (total area = 65,594 ha). Interviewees recognized that slash-and-burn was the most common form of land use, followed by agroforestry practices. Agriculture, charcoal, and firewood production were the main drivers affecting habitats, and land conflicts were recurrent due to the rise in human population. The decline in agriculture, reported by interviewees in some sectors, was attributable to ravages of crops by elephants. Three independent diversity indices showed that, in preserved zones, a greater diversity of animals (with similar utilization frequencies) were hunted than in degraded sites (where grasscutters were the dominant hunted species). There were also significant differences between degraded and preserved zones in terms of plants used for charcoal production and for non-timber forest products. We advocate the development of community-controlled hunting areas to enhance the conservation value of the four well-preserved zones. Instead, promoting sustainable agricultural production systems in the degraded areas can help to further stabilize the agricultural front and reduce land pressure on the park.

/pdf/ecological-challenges-for-the-buffer-zone-management-of-a-4blq3dm97b.pdf

Ecological challenges for the buffer zone management of a West African National Park

African pangolins are currently experiencing unprecedented levels of harvesting, feeding both local demands and the illegal international trade. So far, the lack of knowledge on the population genetics of African pangolins has hampered any attempts at assessing their demographic status and tracing their trade at the local scale. We conducted a pioneer study on the genetic tracing of the African pangolin trade in the Dahomey Gap (DG). We sequenced and genotyped 189 white-bellied pangolins from 18 forests and 12 wildlife markets using one mitochondrial fragment and 20 microsatellite loci.Tree-based assignment procedure showed that the pangolin trade is endemic to the DG region, as it was strictly fed by the the Dahomey Gap lineage (DGL). DGL populations were characterized by low levels of genetic diversity, an overall absence of equilibrium, important inbreeding levels, and lack of geographic structure. We identified a 92-98% decline in DGL effective population size 200-500 ya-concomitant with major political transformations along the 'Slave Coast'-leading to contemporaneous estimates being inferior to minimum viable population size (< 500). Genetic tracing suggested that wildlife markets from the DG sourced pangolins through the entire DGL range. Our loci provided the necessary power to distinguish among all the genotyped pangolins, tracing the dispatch of a same individual on the markets and within local communities. We developed an approach combining rarefaction analysis of private allele frequencies with cross-validation of observed data that traced five traded pangolins to their forest origin, c. 200-300 km away from the markets.Although the genetic toolkit that we designed from traditional markers can prove helpful to trace the illegal trade in pangolins, our tracing ability was limited by the lack of population structure within the DGL. Given the deleterious combination of genetic, demographic, and trade-related factors affecting DGL populations, the conservation status of white-bellied pangolins in the DG should be urgently re-evaluated. 

/pdf/can-dna-help-trace-the-local-trade-of-pangolins-conservation-2inbts7o.pdf

Can DNA help trace the local trade of pangolins? Conservation genetics of white-bellied pangolins from the Dahomey Gap (West Africa)

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1111/aje.12983

Wild meat hunting levels and trade in a West African protected area in Togo

Camera trap survey of mammals in the Fazao‐Malfakassa National Park, Togo, West Africa

https://bmcecolevol.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/s12862-022-01971-5

The distribution of West African primates is still poorly explored in Togo. Field data on distribution, abundance (kilometric index of abundance) and characteristics of primate habitat at six protected and unprotected areas of Togo are reported in this paper. Eight species and 831 primate individuals were visually recorded during field surveys. A few other species were suspected, but not recorded. Species directly observed in the field during our surveys were Cercopithecus erythrogaster erythrogaster, Cercopithecus petaurista petaurista, Cercopithecus mona, Chlorocebus tantalus, Colobus vellerosus, Erythrocebus patas, Papio anubis and Galago senegalensis. Our surveys did not provide any evidence of the persistence of the chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus) in the country. Most of the Togolese primates are of low conservation concern according to The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). However, our surveys suggested that the status of most of the species in Togo is instead ‘th...

Survey of the status and distribution of primates in Togo (West Africa)

Pangolins are considered among the most threatened mammal species, both globally and also in Africa. However, almost nothing is known on their status and distribution across wide areas of their range, particularly in West African countries. Here, we assess the status and distribution of pangolin species in Togo. Fieldwork was carried out in five localities around the Fazao Malfakassa National Park, five sites around the Togodo Protected Areas Complex (Togodo North and Togodo South National Parks), ‘Les Deux Bena’ and Missahohe Forest Reserves, Yikpa‐Dzigbe, Evou and Afagnan Community Forests. In all of these protected areas and forest islands, only one pangolin species was recorded: the white‐bellied pangolin (Phataginus tricuspis); we found no evidence of the giant ground pangolin (Smutsia gigantea), a species that now appears unlikely for Togo. Due to their nocturnal behaviour, we searched for pangolins by spotlighting and estimated their relative abundance using the Kilometric Index of Abundance. Our results show that P. tricuspis is still relatively abundant in suitable habitats in Fazao‐Malfakassa National Park, in Togodo North National Park and in the Assoukoko Forest Reserve. These habitats are dense remnant forest patches where numerous termite mounds and ant nests occur. The present study provides unprecedented information on the status of pangolins in Togo to help inform the development of a conservation programme for this species in this country.

Eric Koffi G. Agbessi

Papers

Survey of the status and distribution of primates in Togo (West Africa)

Insights into the status and distribution of pangolins in Togo (West Africa)